Case Studies > Portsmouth Hospitals - digital pen Challenge

Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust wanted to streamline its admin processes for midwives working in the community, to free

up their time. They provide antenatal care at home, tracking everything in a booklet which is left with the mother. The

midwife then returns to the hospital and fills out the same forms again on the computer. The Trust wanted to eliminate this

duplicate work. Solution

An easy-to-use set-up, involving a digital pen and a BlackBerry®, allows midwives to enter data about their patients in real

time. It also stops them having to enter it twice, as the digital notes are immediately, automatically and securely transferred

to the patient record system. Products and services

O2 Professional Services

Digital pens and paper

BlackBerry® smartphones

O2’s data network Results

Administration time has been cut from 98 minutes to 48 minutes. Which means that midwives can spend more time with

each mother. There’s also been £220,000 in projected annual efficiency savings. “The digital pen has made dramatic

improvements to the way community midwives work, allowing them to spend more time with expectant mothers,” says

Sharon Hackett, lead midwife at the Trust.