Patient Safety and Risk Management Digital Platform

South East Coast Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SECAmb) is exploring the market to gather a better understanding of the systems available and their differing abilities to provide an effective patient safety and risk management digital platform. The purpose of this pre-engagement is to elucidate the Trust’s needs and wants and to ascertain whether all of these can be delivered within one system.

Once providers respond and register an interest, they will be asked to provide a demonstration of their platform to SECAmb. Providers will not, at this stage be expected to divulge any commercial information, other than to verify if their platform could be delivered within timescale and budget.

Whilst engagement from all relevant providers is welcomed it should be noted that SECAmb is not bound by the feedback received. Engagement will not intimate progression with a provider.

This pre-engagement has been issued subject to the Health Care Services Provider Selection Regime (PSR) Regulations 2023. The NHS is having to make significant reductions in spending across the board.

And whilst the Trust acknowledges that digital solutions can require substantial financial commitment, it is keen to ensure efficacy and efficiency remains forefront, hence the desire to explore the market. Current platform SECAmb’s current platform is RL Datix’s DatixCloud IQ (DCIQ).

The modules currently in use are incidents, feedback (complaints / PALS), safeguarding, enterprise risk manager (risk management), safety alerts and dashboards. Two further modules are pending development: claims and mortality review.

Digital platform essential criteria The platform must provide solutions for: Incident reporting and management - Ability to develop reporting / management / search forms tailored to SECAmb - Structure must support the national Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF)- Learning from Patient Safety Events (LSPSE) ready - Ability to create local dashboards Risk Management - Ability to create multiple risk registers and issue logs allowing for escalation of risks / issues - Ability to show risk journey including initial, current and target scores, controls, assurances and gaps and escalation / de-escalation from other risk registers Complaints / PALS o Ability to easily capture all aspects on different forms o Complainants chain for original complaint and for a re-opened complaint Claims / Inquests o Ability to manage all legal aspects i.e. litigation claims and inquests Mortality Review o Ability to create a system that underpins the national Learning from Deaths Guidance and structured judgement revrews Safety Alerts o Ability to create a repository for all types of safety alerts o Function to disseminate alerts to relevant parties and track actions System wide o Full system administration training and guidance throughout development and implementation o Service centre for future contacts regarding any future system queries or issues o Training programme for staff o Simple search and data export functions for end users (not only super users) for all modules o Ability to create actions against any record / module and export into full action plan o Local dashboards able to be created for all modules o Mail merge facility for all modules o Document repositories for all modules o Ability to link records through people involved / case handlers o Accessible via all SECAmb devices i.e. PC, iPad, smartphones o Role / locality-based access, permissions and email notifications o Simple reporting for key performance indicators i.e. breached incidents or complaints, without requirement for manual manipulation Digital platform desirable criteria Incident reporting and management o Ability to duplicate record either within the same module or to another module i.e. incident to complaint or safeguarding Risk Management o Ability to link risks to records in other modules to influence risk profile and contribute to horizon scanning o Creation of a commercially sensitive risk register with restricted access System wide o Clearly shown unique identifiers at the top of all records i.e. record ID and name o Built in AI tool to assess records across all modules to assist with analysis o Automated email notifications to case handlers regarding key actions / deadline dates o Ability to interface with other Trust systems i.e. CAD, ePCR, PowerBI. o Automated real-time updates via data warehouse / data extraction tool Digital platform desirable criteria Incident reporting and management o Ability to duplicate record either within the same module or to another module i.e. incident to complaint or safeguarding Risk Management o Ability to link risks to records in other modules to influence risk profile and contribute to horizon scanning o Creation of a commercially sensitive risk register with restricted access System wide o Clearly shown unique identifiers at the top of all records i.e. record ID and name o Built in AI tool to assess records across all modules to assist with analysis o Automated email notifications to case handlers regarding key actions / deadline dates o Ability to interface with other Trust systems i.e. CAD, ePCR, PowerBI. o Automated real-time updates via data warehouse / data extraction tool Procurement timetable, budget and contract length Should SECAmb decide to proceed with an alternative provider, the new platform is required to be live from October 2026; as a minimum the incident, PALS / complaints, risk and safeguarding modules, in addition to cross system modules i.e. contacts, actions and analytics. SECAmb’s available budget for this solution is £80,000 per year for an initial five-year contract; with a provision that notice may be given from the third anniversary.