Optimistic about Unity optimisation

November 27, 2019

Please print this bulletin out and display in a prominent position in your ward/area and draw attention to it for all colleagues to read.

To help you get the best out of Unity we will continue to share top tips. Please take note of these helpful reminders as they may resolve an issue you have experienced.

Using care plans

There are two types of care plan in Unity. Some are built as a PowerPlan and some are built within the iView band.

PowerPlan care plans are a group of activities, goals, interventions and advice that interact with Unity. They trigger activities and tasks to clinicians, and can be personalised to the patient’s needs (QRG CD74 – Personalising care plans).

iView care plans are located in adult quick view. They are used to document whether care has been given in accordance with the plan and do not generate orders (QRG CD58 – How to initiate, record and discontinue an iView care plan).

All patients admitted for inpatient care require evidence based, personalised nursing care plans. Care plans in Unity are managed as a mixture of PowerPlan and iView. On admission each patient has a set of assessments that require completing in line with the patient safety plan. These are grouped on Unity as ‘Patient Safety Assessment’.

As a result of the completed assessments, nursing care plans are suggested. It is the responsibility of the trained nurse to decide if they are appropriate to the patient (QRG CD02 – Accepting and rejecting suggested care plans).

Care plans can be added manually, as appropriate to the patient’s condition, using the request/care plan tab within the table of contents (QRG CD80 – Requesting care plans).

Care plans can be personalised within Unity. They should be personalised at the accept stage (QRG CD74).

The discharge care plan is suggested automatically on admission for all patients. Suggested care plans are expected to be activated unless a rationale for not accepting is recorded in the patient’s electronic record (QRG CD02).

The clinician is expected to document care provided in real time using document in plan for PowerPlan care plans. For iView care plans documentation is via a drop down box – ‘Care Plan followed as documented – Yes or No’. If ‘No’, a freetext comment box is used (QRG CD76 – Documenting in care plan and QRG CD58).

Requesting a change to Unity

There are two types of issues that can arise when using Unity:

1. In most cases we need to help a user and their colleagues to develop expert knowledge of the product. As we all know there is a right way to use Unity. If we use the system in the right way then it works well, not just for us and our patients, but for the next user. That’s what we call optimisation.

Process flow – ‘I have a problem with Unity’

2. There is a second scenario, where we may need to change how Unity is set up or configured. There is a process to consider whether a change like that is required. Here’s how that process works.

Service change request form

A change request can be made to the weekly service change request meeting chaired by Martin Sadler and Liam Kennedy. If the request is less urgent, which most are, then your clinical group digital committee will consider the level of priority it needs.

In doing so, they will be particularly interested in whether your team is already performing optimally on Unity. Priority will be given to high performing teams’ requests. If your request is considered urgent then it will go direct to the weekly service change request meeting.

If you need help talk to your IT Business Relationship Manager (IT-BRM), whose names and details are below. BRMs are not an alternative to 4050 but they will help you to navigate the ways to improve your digital performance. You can contact them via email at swbh.informaticsscr@nhs.net.

Documenting oral assessments

Oral assessment and care are basic requirements for all our patients. Unfortunately, this is often neglected and can result in complications, such as infection, which can be avoided.

Many colleagues are not aware of where to document oral assessments on Unity so please refer to the images below for more information.

Involvement of a patient’s family is covered under the ‘Plan discussed with’ component. The actual oral assessment is part of the safety assessment, which is requested automatically on admission.

This is also available at any time through Adult Systems Assessment in Assessments/Fluid Balance (iView).

Meet super user Joanne Wright

Ward manager Joanne Wright (right) is a super user in paediatric services. She admits that many of her staff were nervous about the introduction of Unity but are now feeling much more confident.

“Prior to Unity going live, all the staff were very anxious. But, to be fair, I think it’s gone really well. Now people are saying that they like it. A few of the people who weren’t very used to computers were a little bit rusty, but they’ve worked with us and we’ve all managed to help each other. The other super users have been fabulous and we’ve had lots of support from the Unity team,” she said.

“We’re finding that every day you go on Unity, you’re still learning and finding something new. We’re customising it so that it works specifically for our paediatric team. It’s been really positive.”

Joanne helped to co-ordinate the efforts of her colleagues on Lyndon 1, ensuring that everyone was engaged with the Unity project. Previous experiences had left some doubting whether the new electronic patient record would ever go live but their hard work was rewarded,

“We did the team competencies, the Unity checklists and the e-learning, which we were able to access from home as well. We also set up a computer on the ward each day prior to go-live where people who had a spare five minutes could go on and practise the e-learning or use the play system. That really did help alleviate the anxiety,” said Joanne.

“It was a little bit slow to start with as we got to grips with it. Our nursing care stayed the same, it’s just the way we document it that’s different. Everything’s all in one place – on the one system – it just took a while to get used to it. It’s got some clear benefits and it’s really positive for the patient journey.”

Remember – you can contact your super users for help and advice or call ext. 4050 if you have issues with your device or use of Unity.