University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, a major acute teaching hospital, has successfully utilised Hornbill's Supportworks ITSM to manage the new Registration Authority Smart Card system, part of the National Programme for IT (NPfIT). The trust has over 4,000 security verified users that will be registered with the Authority. Hornbill's solution was originally selected in 2008 as the best fit for the Trust's service desk requirements. Supportworks ITSM was chosen for its customer focused, intuitive interface and its proven framework for the adoption of ITIL best practice, providing the critical levels of support for users of new clinical systems.

The IT team is now using Supportworks ITSM to record the details of every NHS CRS Smart Card issued, including user identifier, access rights and a history of any changes and the expiry date (normally after a two year period). Most queries from staff on Smart Cards can be resolved by first line support. Audit and usage reports are also prepared from Supportworks ITSM for the Trust's Registration Authority, responsible for the issue of smart cards and secure access to patient care records.

According to Mark Wright, Head of Service Management at the Trust: “Under NPfIT we are increasingly bringing in new systems to support both administration and specialist departments and our users need support. Supportworks ITSM has given us the framework to provide a managed service to end users, as well as the ability to adopt ITIL best practice, a key part of our IT Strategy."

"With Supportworks, as an ITIL compatible system and by working to ITIL best practice we can now provide the evidence necessary to become a Connecting for Health Accredited Service Desk. This enables us to provide a seamless service, linking up to our Local Service Provider to streamline support resolution. Supportworks ITSM underpins our IT Strategy and operations and is vital as we move forward with the implementation of the NPfIT."

Over fifty IT staff use Supportworks. New automated working practices within the ITIL framework have replaced the manual recording of problem and change management activities. The Trust is also using Supportworks' ITSM Configuration Management Database (CMDB) capabilities to manage its asset base, including licensing information and lease expiry dates. The reporting functionality is enabling the team to successfully meet its Service Level Agreements. Users are also able to log and trace calls via the Web SelfService functionality, as well as place requests for new equipment.

Gerry Sweeney, CEO of Hornbill Systems commented: "There is no doubt that the National Programme for IT will bring huge benefits to patients through increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of staff and clinicians. However, it brings with it challenges for the IT department, as they are faced with integrating new systems and supporting increasing numbers of users through their organisation. Supportworks ITSM has been designed to enable service desks to adopt ITIL best practice for problem and change management. It provides the necessary tools to streamline support processes, enabling the IT team to provide a more responsive and efficient service to large numbers of end users, without necessarily increasing headcount."

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NOTES TO EDITORS

About University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust
Formed in 1994, University Hospital of South Manchester NHS Foundation Trust is a major acute teaching hospital Trust providing services to adults and children at Wythenshawe Hospital, and Withington Community Hospital, which is owned and managed by South Manchester Primary Care Trust.

The Trust employs 5,200 people including 800 who are employed via South Manchester Healthcare Limited, the Trust's Private Finance Initiative (PFI) partner. It has a total of 895 beds and earns an annual income of around £260 million. There are 430,000 patient attendances annually.

For more information, please visit: www.uhsm.nhs.uk/