Airedale NHS rolls out Printed Wristbands with the help of Dakota Integrated Solutions

Dakota Integrated Solutions has been successful in securing the project to roll out printed wristbands at Airedale NHS Trust in West Yorkshire. The trust undertook an extensive selection process incorporating clinicians, IM&T staff as well as the project team in the decision on which supplier would be best suited to help roll out the project.

Initial meetings with the trust commenced in August 2008 followed by demonstrations of the Dakota solution to clinicians & ward staff etc. One of the clinching factors was Dakota’s ability to provide the integration interface to the trusts iPM (iSOFT) PAS system without having to make any alterations to PAS itself. The trust did explore alternative technologies such as printing bands from laser printers along with other suppliers of thermal printing but chose Dakota for their expertise, experience in rolling out wristband solutions & innovative ways in proposing contingency plans for when hospital systems may not be available.

The project incorporated the following:

  • Provision of Zebra HC100 networked wristband printers with accompanying wristbands
  • ZebraNet Bridge Remote Management software
  • Zebra QL+ mobile printers for use with computers on wheels at the bedside
  • Honeywell 2D Barcode wireless scanners with special healthcare plastics to aid infection control
  • Integration with the trusts’ iPM PAS system
  • Provision of SoloMed contingency software (when PAS etc is unavailable)
  • Extended warranty support contracts for the hardware.

Commenting on the success Geoff Monk, Dakota’s dedicated NHS Manager said “Airedale has been a very satisfying project for us to secure & roll out. The competition was fierce in the selection process however, I feel our ability to take the pain away from trusts in providing a credible, working solution rather than just supply the hardware was a major, contributory factor. We have worked closely with the Project Management team every step of the way which has certainly aided our ability to quickly roll out the solution.”

He went on to say “Dakota’s ethos is to differentiate our offering by providing a complete solution for trusts rather than have to deal with multiple suppliers across the various disciplines. Our integration with PAS is done quickly & painlessly which means there are no alteration nor interruptions to the PAS system, this alone provides trusts with the confidence in knowing one of their major hospital systems is not compromised. Additionally, our SoloMed contingency software means trusts can still comply with the NPSA directive on printed wristbands even when PAS is unavailable”.

Added on the 11th of May 2009

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