Heartbeat: Full dress rehearsal increases confidence in Unity
March 1, 2019
Our sites were turned into shades of green as we took on the full dress rehearsal (FDR) of Unity from Monday 11 February.
A survey of colleagues who participated in FDR revealed:
- 72 per cent of colleagues agreed with the statement, “Having participated in FDR, I feel more confident in using Unity
- 72 per cent said there was enough communication in preparation for FDR
- 69 per cent felt they were prepared and able to deliver what was expected of them
- 89 per cent reported they had enough support with issues raised.
There were some issues flagged up such as printing, with 50 per cent of users.
saying they were unable to do so when needed, whilst others reported that barcode machines weren’t working as they should. We should note, though, that most issues were resolved quickly.
Katie Gray, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Head of Unity Implementation said: “We’ve had some marvellous feedback from FDR. We have gained a tremendous amount of knowledge and learned so much, even from smaller clinics, such as the clinical nurse specialist clinic in respiratory medicine.
“There were issues with printing some labels and documents and there were some problems with barcode scanners that will require further investigation.”
Katie added: “A number of debrief sessions to gather feedback on how FDR went have been taking place. The aim is to create a good foundation on which to build the go-live support. If colleagues have not been able to take part in the feedback sessions I would encourage them to contact the team and give their views directly.”
How was it for you? Dress rehearsal participants share their views:
“It’s our first FDR and we have been admitting patients, allocating them beds or chairs and it’s gone really well. It’s been quite straight forward. There’s been a couple of little issues but those will get sorted out. This has been a great experience before going live. It gives you the chance to ask questions if you’re not certain about something.” Dorothy Lord, Ward Clerk, Medical Infusion Suite
“I just wanted to say how proud I was to be part of the BMEC ED FDR today – I work with the best team ever! It was wonderful to work with people who were so intent on making the FDR work today – your enthusiasm, drive to find solutions, passion for sharing your knowledge with others was awe inspiring. There was a complete ‘we can do this’ mentality which was fantastic. Thank you to everyone, without the staff running the ED as normal we would not have been able to test the systems as thoroughly as we did – literally everyone has played a vital part of today’s success.” Laura Young, Directorate Lead Nurse, Ophthalmology
“Initially, it has been challenging. The first time I looked at the Unity system on screen, it was quite scary. However, after working my way through it, I saw my second or third patient and I found it was getting easier. I think the system will make a real difference to everybody.” Anne Rutland, Skin Cancer Clinical Nurse Specialist
“Things have gone smoothly today. We have been transcribing and it has made us feel more confident in the system before it is launched.” Mark Zimmerman, Alex Hollis and Dan Worthington FY2 Doctors
“I feel like it’s (the dress rehearsal) worked quite well today. I initially felt worried because I hadn’t done the training for a while. But it all came back. We raised a few issues, but these were resolved with support from colleagues”. Oneka Berry, Nurse Associate, Lyndon Ground
“It’s been a great day of FDR we’ve done fabulous episodes of meeting with different colleagues and dealing with their problems one by one. Eventually we will have better ways of identifying problems which will be resolved and become part of our implementation. “Alan Scott, EPR trainer
If you would like to give your feedback on FDR please contact the project team at unity.cutover@nhs.net.