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Everyone is tired of hearing the ‘c’ word. To save any uncomfortable confusion I’ll spell it out – COVID-19. It has pushed many aspects of healthcare to the brink including its people. However, this pandemic (the overused ‘p’ word) has exposed many underlying problems that healthcare workers had been complaining about for years.
So, let’s turn the thought of COVID-19 on its head. The pandemic is happening whether we like it or not, so let’s try and see how we can take advantage of an otherwise bad scenario.
Interestingly, history has shown that through crises comes innovation. For example, the cholera outbreak that killed tens of thousands of people in England during the early/mid-19th century, brought about global changes to urban sanitation and drinking water. During the time of the outbreak, many believed that the disease was spread through foul air known as ‘miasma’. However, after much research and detective work, Dr. John Snow discovered that it actually stemmed from a local water source in London. Once the source was shut off, the infections dropped. Although this did not cure cholera worldwide, it led to innovations in waste disposal, sewerage treatment, quality drinking water, along with design for urban areas.
We live in a time like no other, with the opportunities for growth and innovation before us, so let’s break down one issue in healthcare and discover a clever way to solve it.
If I mention the word ‘Rostering & Allocation System’, are you excited – or – do your eyes roll back in your head with boredom. Most I’m sure, would choose the boredom option as few want to do admin. However, if we delve into the real impacts of good or bad rostering, we can see the immense effects upon everyone and why it deserves our utmost attention.
Doctors, nurses, administration staff, specialists, patients, visitors, family members & friends – every single one of those people are impacted by the way a roster is made, what happens when it is updated or what happens when sudden changes arise. For instance, if a doctor spends many hours each week rostering and allocating staff, fixing mistakes and making changes – then that is time taken away from their actual job of helping people. Shorter time in practice, means less time for patients, care discussions with other staff and so on. It is easy to see how a somewhat simple process has a huge knock-on effect, leading to overwork, burnout, less time for family – you get the point.
COVID-19 has removed the covers of this once innocuous issue, revealing old tired systems, struggling to work with the nuances of the modern world. Clunky rostering systems are inflexible and slow and they don’t need to be. It’s time to put the power and efficiency back into your rostering and allocation system, leaving you to do what actually matters.
Hospital departments and other healthcare facilities are discovering a clever solution through Core Schedule’s Rostering and Allocation software. It is fit for purpose to the healthcare industry, helps mitigate risk, gives real-time updates and is pretty good looking if we must say so ourselves. Staff who are using it are raving. Yes, people are now excited about Rostering and Allocation.
Speak to us if you’d like to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic by bringing innovative solutions to your issues.