Improved Patient Communication for Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is a leading Yorkshire acute trust, serving a population of more than 420,000 from 3 hospitals and support services.

The Challenge

Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (DBTH) generate circa. 2,000 patient appointment letters daily from its outpatient clinics.

Before working with Aceni partner – patient communications experts, PSL Print Management –, DBTH managed patient appointment letter production in-house.

The DBTH team identified a number of challenges with the internal process. Core frontline staff were distracted daily printing letters: impacting on morale. The printing and enclosing equipment used was prone to errors: adding time pressures to the teams’ short production window.

And fluctuating print volumes made postage and print consumable costs difficult to control.

There were clearly compelling reasons to automate the letter production. Of paramount importance was to secure the services of a partner experienced in patient data processing with a highly secure production environment.

A detailed business case was put to the executive team, followed by a rigorous tender process. PSL Print Management was selected for its knowledge of patient communications with Datagraphic’s Aceni service delivering secure print production.

Results Achieved

• Annual production of over 500,000 patient appointment letters automated, releasing core staff to frontline services and boosting morale.
• Improved letter accuracy and speed of delivery: providing a measurable reduction in Did Not Attend (DNA) rates in clinics.
• Cost per letter rates reduced significantly: delivering immediate process savings for the trust.
• An increased audit trail for documents and maximum protection of patient data in a highly secure UK production facility.