Heartbeat July 2018

Unity – how ready are you?
Later this year, a number of our clinical
systems will change to Unity – our new
electronic patient record that will unify
clinical records enabling consistency of
care.
It has been calculated that 5,500 of us and
counting will use Unity on a daily basis. If
you are identified as a user of Unity, it will
not be possible for you to conduct your role
without it.
Colleagues are being urged to take it upon
themselves to learn how to use Unity and
attend the training available.
All teams have access to the Unity
Readiness Checklist - a guide for you and
your department to get yourselves ready for
the new electronic patient record. This is
an exciting time for us all, and we want to
make sure we’re ready.
The checklist has different sections, which
contain a number of checks. The aim of the
checklist is for you to work through each
section, collect the checks, and show that
you are ready for Unity.
Sharon Reynolds, Informatics Matron leads
the clinical informatics team which will
play a huge role in supporting our teams in
readiness for Unity.
She said: “We are now in the readiness
stage of Unity and colleagues who took
part in the first dress rehearsal will know
that it’s a great opportunity to get us all set
for go-live. It’s important that teams use the
readiness checklist and to also seek support
from the clinical informatics team, work
stream leads and Unity implementers who
will regularly visit departments to provide
the support necessary to help teams get
ready.
“I’ve been visiting ward teams and it is
encouraging to see that many are seeing
the value of Unity and are eager to start
using it. Colleagues are looking forward
to using real time information to make
clinical decisions about the people in our
care. Unity will certainly help to facilitate
multidisciplinary working and improve
patient experience and flow.”
Getting ready for Unity should be a team
effort – the checklist is an excellent way of
engaging colleagues, stimulating discussion
about Unity and starting to address
people’s questions and concerns. It may not
be possible to complete each check straight
away – many are tied to particular phases
of the project so may not be available
immediately.
The readiness checklist is available on
Connect and teams also have a hard
copy to keep. The checklist belongs to
your department, store it somewhere
safe.
You may ask different team members
to focus on a particular area or set up
a small group to work through the
checklist. Accountability for progress
with readiness preparation and
associated reporting sits with the ward/
department manager.
Support is also available from the
Unity implementation team, a group
of colleagues assigned to each clinical
area with the purpose of supporting
the readiness effort. Working closely
with the work stream leads and the
clinical informatics team, their role is to
inform and update, as well as act as a
conduit for colleagues to raise issues of
concern.
CORPORATE & GENERAL NEWS
Unity
will be used by
over
5,500
colleagues
Keep an eye out for activities
and events to help you get
ready
Coming soon to your area -
Unity corners. Digital champions
with support from ward sisters
and matrons will be developing
Unity corners – a new space to
learn all about Unity and have an
opportunity to use the Unity Play
System (a dummy copy of the
electronic patient record that you
can safely practice on).
Look out for Unity pop up
demonstrations to learn more.
Visit the Unity favourite fairs in
September for a chance to log on
and set up your favourite areas
on the system.
Further information about Unity
or if you’d like to find out more
about training visit Connect or
email swbh.trustindigital@nhs.net.
Information is also available from
your group Unity implementer,
clinical sponsor or digital champions
in your area. The communications
bulletin has news and updates on a
regular basis.
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