BI solution helps to improve efficiency and supply the information needed to meet targets

London, 17 February 2010 – Mersey Care NHS Trust has deployed 21C’s specialist Microsoft-based Business Intelligence (BI) solutions to unlock the information and data required to support operational management, the implementation of service line reporting and performance monitoring, through a self-service platform. 

Michael Morris, Data Repository & Business Intelligence Systems Manager, Mersey Care NHS Trust said, “We knew we had the data within our separate systems, but the information was not easily accessible and the different data sources were not linked in any way. The executive management team wanted to have better access to the data and be able to analyse the information on-demand to inform operational management and service planning and to target resources at areas requiring improvements in performance. ”

Mersey Care NHS Trust opted for 21C’s bespoke solution that could be customised to its requirements and data. Morris continued: “Off-the-shelf products often need a lot of customisation and you are then tied into a specific methodology. We have specific information requirements and wanted to ensure we got the right solution for our Trust. 21C were able to provide a comprehensive bespoke solution that controlled our costs through negotiation using the Enterprise NHS agreement with Microsoft.”

Many of the senior managers at Mersey Care NHS Trust now have timely information at their finger tips. This development has also secured improvements in data quality and improved the accuracy of performance measurement.

“21C clearly understood what we wanted to achieve and adapted the solution to meet our needs on time, to budget and within contingency,” continued Morris.

At the same time the Trust implemented a new management framework for its wide ranging mental health, learning disability and addiction services based on Clinical Business Units – the Business Intelligence solution was flexible enough to accommodate the changes required to the reporting structure.

Morris continued, “The 21C solution has assisted us in meeting the additional information reporting requirements generated by the Clinical Business Units. Even before we finished the project, we were already seeing benefits. Initial feedback from staff has been excellent and the solution is now considered business critical.”

Paul Henderson, CEO, 21C said, “We really understand data, but more importantly how to action it to the benefit of an NHS Trust. Often this crucial data can be locked in silos, but without a BI solution that can unlock it and facilitate analysis, the data is useless. It is absolutely vital that trusts empower their staff to identify challenges, make improvements and enhance performance.

“Our extensive experience in the mental health sector allows us to provide Mersey Care with a BI solution that met its needs in a language we all understood,” said Henderson. 

Availability and Pricing
21C’s range of tools for NHS Trusts is available now. For more information, visit <http://www.21c.it > or call 0207 324 6230.