“Enabling nurses to spend 10% more time with patients in direct value added care”
SymlConnect Ltd, one of the innovative companies based at the Institute of Life Science 2 building on Swansea University Campus has been successful in winning a Proof of Concept contract under the SBRI challenge. SymlConnect was one of the five innovative companies to win the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (BCUHB) SBRI project, funded by the Welsh Government and the Technology Strategy Board, to develop and introduce new and innovative ideas to help improve patient care. SymlConnect specialises in design and development of user friendly software solutions to enhance patient satisfaction and improve time efficiency for Clinicians. These include smart mobile devices seamlessly linked with existing systems for on-demand information at-the-point-of-care. Working in partnership with BCUHB, SymlConnect are looking to develop technologies which improve information sharing and communication (including interactions with non-clinical sites and patients’ feedback), to improve the experience of patients, clinicians and managers within the Children’s Ward, Wrexham Maelor Hospital.
Managing Director of SymlConnect, Sabarna Mukhopadhyay commented, “ This is an exciting opportunity for the Health Board to make a real difference and involve patients at the heart of their health care and SymlConnect is proud to play an active role to bring this vision to a reality”.
This project provides an opportunity for SymlConnect to work within the NHS in Wales to streamline systems and information flows, to reduce the proportion of nursing time being diverted from patient care to carry out administrative tasks. It opens the prospects of improving patient care, enabling staff to spend more time with their patients and also to support SymlConnect’s business focus on innovative technology, which will be marketable for the future. SymlConnect works in close collaboration with the eHealth Industries Innovation Centre (ehi2) within the Health Informatics Group at Swansea University and acknowledges the support given by the various Welsh Government funded programs.
Martin McSpadden, Senior Charge Nurse from the Health Board said: “This is a great opportunity for our staff to work with business to find ways to really make their jobs easier and to spend longer on direct patient care. By being involved right through the design stages we can help the companies develop systems and products that work in the real world, that fit in with the way ward teams operate and which hopefully can then be successfully introduced in other wards and hospitals.”