How can IT Support be tailored to Hospices?

With the recent release of our new IT Support package for Hospices, we thought we’d share what makes CT different when it comes to supporting the IT infrastructure of hospices. Our focus is on driving efficiencies and improving compliance by providing solutions tailored to their unique requirements, which will ultimately improve patient care.

5 ways we tailor our IT support to your hospice

Our bespoke package aims to provide cost-effective solutions to hospices across the UK. The package is uniquely tailored to each hospice but here are the top 5 ways we ensure your IT support is hospice-focused.

1. Compliance & data governance

All organisations that access NHS patient data and systems must demonstrate their compliance with the DHSC (Department of Health and Social Care’s) data security and information governance requirements.  This is achieved by submitting a self-assessment using the DSP (Data Security & Protection) Toolkit, an online tool that replaced the IG Toolkit in April 2018. To help hospices achieve this important accreditation, we provide the following:

• We include security services (such as antivirus, email security and web security) that support requirements of the NHS DSP Toolkit
• We will help support completion of technology related content for DSP to save the hospice valuable time
• We ensure Cyber Essentials levels are adhered to as ‘business as usual’ through regular checks and monitoring of security levels
• We manage the efficiency and security of Microsoft 365 by continuously monitoring your Microsoft tenancy
• We carry out regular external vulnerability scans on your network

Also, in line with the DSP Toolkit and Cyber Essentials requirements, we’d recommend the following additional services to ensure the hospice is secure and robust:

• Remote back up storage (backup of onsite servers and data)
• Back-up of MS365 data
• MFA (Multi-factor authentication)

2. Annual strategic IT review

For a successful partnership with hospices, there should be a clear understanding of a hospice’s goals and their medium to long-term strategy. It is crucial to prioritise organisational needs over technology and ensure that the technology roadmap is driven by the organisation, not the other way around. That’s why our IT Support for Hospices package includes an annual strategic review to produce a risk-based technology roadmap that can provide a structured and planned approach to any IT works.

While unexpected events may require adjustments to the strategic plan, we strive for ongoing and purposeful improvement which can only happen by having a structured approach and a clear understanding of a hospice’s medium to long-term objectives. 

The strategic review involves discussions with the senior management team to ensure we maintain a full understanding of the hospice’s plans. It will also include a full technical review and discussions with end users to establish the day-to-day pains or inefficiencies being experienced. 

3. Out-of-hours support & on-site engineering days

We understand that hospices are a 24/7/365 operation, with teams like the clinical and retail departments working outside of normal business hours. With this in mind, we provide the following services:

• As standard, we will support, maintain and monitor the hospices systems and respond to p1 incidents (critical incidents) whatever the day or time of the week
• We can provide 24/7 support to any staff members to ensure we are available at all times for all hospice teams who need IT support

Whilst we can manage most situations remotely, we also understand that having an onsite IT presence to call upon can be comforting for staff members. With this in mind, we can provide scheduled and regular onsite engineers.

4. We provide a comprehensive governance data report for trustees

We understand the Board of Trustees and senior leadership team have the ultimate responsibility for the corporate governance of the hospice. (as per the Charity Commission 2012). Therefore, we focus on demonstrating that high level, strategic objectives can be met, efficiencies driven, and that new IT infrastructure implemented is secure and future-proofed.

We can design a bespoke quarterly report on the measurable outcomes of the agreed IT strategy, to help deliver measurable outcomes at board level to demonstrate the value in the IT provision at the hospice. 

5. Third-party management services

With extensive experience and successful existing relationships with providers, we can manage your third-party services such as TPP (SystmOne), Emis, Vantage and Sage etc. This enables us to help manage problems on your behalf, so they can be dealt with quickly and efficiently, meaning you don’t get stuck in the middle of providers. As part of the annual strategic review, we will also engage with 3rd party providers to ensure their service aligns to the hospices objectives and compliance requirements.

We have years of experience and work with 6 hospices already to help tailor IT Support to this sector, and we found many unique needs in the industry. That’s why our IT Support for Hospices package is so well-suited to hospices across the country. Our industry partnerships also help strengthen our hospice knowledge, we are currently partnered with Hospice Quality Partnership (HQP) and an endorsed service provider of Hospice UK. 

So if you’re a hospice in need of IT Support please get in touch with our team today to find out more about how we can support your organisational goals with the award-winning IT support.