NHS England are exploring dynamic and agile solutions to address key challenges across the NHS using the functionality available within the central tenant. The first foray into this is the NHSmail Bed Management Application. It has been built using Power Apps and uses a SharePoint site data source which can be populated locally by an organisation. This allows local customisation to cater for the differing bed management processes across hospitals. The app has an RBAC model representing the different job roles involved in patient flow. Please note that the application has been built to be piloted and does not at this stage reflect a complete solution, it will continue to be iterated.
This article is intended to give an overview of the Bed Management App functionality for NHS users and Local Administrators. For more information, please refer to the additional guidance for Users and the guidance for Local Administrators.
What is the NHSmail Bed Management App?
The Bed Management Power App streamlines the bed management process into a comprehensive solution, providing a trust-wide view of all beds and their statuses to enable monitoring of hospital capacity and improved patient flow.
The Bed Management App’s multi-functional design includes features such as:
- Bed Management
- Bed Requests
- Data Upload
- Notifications
- Reporting
- Admin Controls
By integrating these functionalities, the app aims to improve efficiency and communication within trusts.
Admin Roles & Access
The Bed Management App is designed to cater for different job roles across patient flow. User access and functionality vary depending on the admin role assigned, ensuring that each role has the appropriate tools and permissions for their specific needs.
The following explains the four different admin roles and access controls for each.
Who is The Bed Management App For?
The app is designed for all hospital employees that are part of the bed management process. The example job roles included below are not exhaustive.
Admin Role Access Overview
The 4 admin roles can be leveraged at an organisations discretion, there is no obligation to use all the role types.
What are the Benefits of Using the Bed Management App?
The Bed Management App allows NHSE organizations to transition from manual systems and processes to a streamlined digital solution.
Quick Connections
The app uses notifications to reduce the need for calling between wards, and moves towards one trust wide communication solution surrounding bed management. It is a comprehensive bed view system which allows full view of ward capacity, allowing ward staff to focus more on patient care and reduce patients wait time.
Customization
The app has been built with a SharePoint data source, which once deployed locally, can be customized by the organization. This will enable organizations to tailor the app to their specific bed management needs, accommodating the differing processes across trusts thereby enabling the application to be most effective.
Visibility
The app features a system designed to surface information and improve visibility of bed availability across a trust. This will reduce time delays with patient flow by reducing cross-ward communication errors. By having full visibility of beds, wards will be less likely to miscommunicate bed availability, due to the bed data being accurately recorded.
Data Driven Insights
Bed management reports will allow Trust management to track patient flow efficiency, individual productivity, and current bed capacity. These reports will also allow for further ease with forecasting and support the need for resource changes in response to demand. Overall, allowing for a more productivity-focused management approach.
How to use the NHSmail Bed Management App
The Bed Management App is hosted on Power Apps and can be integrated into Microsoft Teams or accessed via a web browser.
The app features four core functions:
- Bed Management Screen
- Bed Requests
- Notifications & Reporting
- Admin Controls
The following sections detail how to perform specific actions within the application.
How to Navigate the Application
- When you access the application, you will be prompted to select a hospital.
- Selecting a hospital takes you to the landing screen where you have the option to access the following functions: Bed Management, Reports & Alerts, Admin Controls and Bed Requests.
- Select each of these to access the relevant functionality.
- Once one of these options are selected you can continue to access the relevant page via the navigation bar on the left side of the app.
- You will also be able to access the ‘Upload Bed Details’ function via the navigation bar.
Admin Control Guidance
How to Upload Bed Information
- On the landing page click the bed management button
- On the left side of the landing page a tool bar will be visible
- Click on the ‘upload bed details’ icon (page and an upwards pointing arrow).
- The Upload Bed Details Excel page will open up.
- Download the template xlsx file from the Download Template button.
- Once template is filled with the bed details, user can attach the file in the attachment area and can click on the Upload file button to upload the file.
- Please note it may take a few minutes for data to be uploaded. You can continue using the app and you will receive a pop-up notification once data upload has been completed in the background
- Once upload is completed and the app refreshed, the user can get to see latest uploaded bed data in the bed management screen.
How to Upload Hospital Data
- On the landing page click the bed management button
- On the left side of the landing page a tool bar will be visible
- Click on the ‘upload bed details’ icon (page and an upwards pointing arrow).
- Navigate to the ‘Upload Hospital Data’ section of the page
- Download the template xlsx file from the Download Template button.
- Once template is filled with the hospital data, user can attach the file in the attachment area and can click on the Upload file button to upload the file.
- Please note it may take a few minutes for data to be uploaded. You can continue using the app and you will receive a pop-up notification once data upload has been completed in the background
- Once upload is completed and the app refreshed, the user will be able to see the latest ward and department data on their hospital.
How To Populate Bed Information Template
- Once the Bed Details template has been downloaded open the excel file
- Add a new row to the bottom of the table and input the bed information for the new bed. You will need to have understood the relevant data required ahead of populating this.
- Each column in the table has a title with the required information displayed.
- Some cells will have a corresponding drop down with options to choose from to aid inputting of data. Note: Other values can be added.
How To Upload New Users
- On the landing page click the ‘admin controls’ button
- Click on the ‘upload users’ button
- The Upload User Details Excel page will come up.
- Download the template xlsx file from the Download Template button.
- Once template is filled with the user details, user can attach the file in the attachment area and can click on the Upload file button to upload the file.
- Please note it may take a few minutes for data to be uploaded. You can continue using the app and you will receive a pop-up notification once data upload has been completed in the background
- The new user and all their information will appear in the ‘manage users’ section of the app
How To Edit Users and Access
- On the landing page click the Admin Controls button
- Select Manage Users
- The Manage Users page will open where you can edit all user information
- Select the Edit button beside the details of the user you want to edit
- The Edit User Details popup will open on the screen
- Select the drop down by Role and select the new role to be assigned to the user
- Select submit button
- User can be deleted by selecting Delete button once the edit user details page has been opened
Bed Management Guidance
How To View Bed Availability
- From the landing page click the ‘Bed Management’ button
- This will bring up the bed management screen, which is a dashboard view of bed availability based on your access.
- From here you can use the filters (Department and Ward) to refine your search
- On the left-hand side on the screen, you can further refine your view to beds by status by clicking on the status buttons.
How To Change Bed Status
- On the Bed Management screen select the required bed.
- Click on the ‘Details’ button on the individual bed view.
- The bed details popup will open.
- Click on the status filter box and select the appropriate status from the drop down.
- Select save changes to update the bed status. Other users will also be able to see the updated status.
How To Change Bed Details
- On the landing page, select the ‘Bed Management’ button
- Click on the details button for the bed you want to edit.
- The bed details popup will open
- Here you can update several bed and patient details including:
- Status
- PatientID
- Sex
- Bed Features
- Infection Control
- Discharge Date
- Booking Date
- Select save changes to update the bed details
How to ‘Block’ A Bed
- On the landing page, select the Bed Management button
- Click on the details button for the bed you want to block out
- The bed details popup will open
- Scroll down to the bottom and toggle to ‘Blocked’
- This will grey out all bed details, stopping other users from making any updates to the bed
- Select save changes to update to blocked
Bed Request Guidance
How to View Your Sent And Received Requests
- On the landing page, click the ‘Bed Requests’ button or if you have the toolbar up, select the ‘bed requests’ icon at the bottom
- The ‘Manage Bed Requests’ screen will open where you can see all sent and received requests to your department
- Navigate to ‘Sent’ to see all bed requests you have sent out
- Navigate to ‘Received’ to see all requests pending with you for a response
How To Request A Bed
- Click on the bed request icon on the tool bar
- The manage bed request screen will show where you can see all sent and received requests to your department
- To make a new request click the add bed request button
- Here the new bed request pop up will appear where you can add all information for your request
- Press the submit button to send the request
How To Respond To A Bed Request
- On the landing page, click the ‘Bed Requests’ button or if you have the toolbar up, select the ‘bed requests’ icon at the bottom
- On the landing page, click the ‘Bed Requests’ button or if you have the toolbar up, select the ‘bed requests’ icon at the bottom
- The ‘Manage Bed Requests’ screen will open
- Navigate to ‘Received’ to see all requests pending with you for a response
- Select the ‘Respond’ button
- A popup will open where you will be able to respond to the request by selecting the action outcome
- If you are approving the bed request, you will also need to populate the fields confirming what hospital, department, ward and bed has been assigned
- Select ‘submit’ to save your response and notify the requester
Notification Guidance
How To View Logged Notifications
- On the landing page, select the ‘Reports & Alerts’ button
- Select ‘Notifications & Alerts’
- The Notifications screen will open and you will be able to view all notifications
- You can filter notifications by date, department and status
- You can also filter by ‘updated by’ to see which user made the updates that triggered the notification
- You can search for a specific bed number to see notifications relating to it
- Clicking on the ‘>’ button to the right of a selected notification will open a popup with more notification details
How To Set Up Notification Flows
- On the landing page, select the ‘Reports & Alerts’ button
- Select ‘Notifications & Alerts’
- Select the + button at the top right of the page to add a new notification flow
- Update notification flow with required details, including:
- Department
- Notification Type (email)
- Starting Bed Status
- End Bed Status
- Enter ‘Notification Receivers’ this will be the email addresses of the people the notification will be sent out to
- Add any additional notes you would like reflected in the notification – this is optional
- Select ‘Update Flow’ to save
How To Update Notification Flows
- On the landing page, select the ‘Reports & Alerts’ button
- Select ‘Notifications & Alerts’
- Select the ‘Manage Notification Flow’ button at the top right of the page
- Select the pencil icon beside the notification flow you want to update
- Update your required details
- Select ‘update flow’ to save
Reporting Guidance
How To View And Export Reports
- On the landing page, select Reports & Alerts, and then Reporting
- The reporting screen will appear and all current reports within your department will appear
- You can then change your view by clicking on current, bed requests or bed history buttons to see different reporting views
- To download a report, select the ‘Detailed Raw Report’ button beside the toolbar. This will open a page with bed and hospital details
- Select the ‘Download’ button at the top right
- You will be emailed the report in an excel format.
Where can I find out more about the Application?
For more information, please refer to the following additional guidance for Users:
For additional guidance for deploying the application and for individuals participating in the pilot, please refer to the designated pilot MS Teams Site.
Last Reviewed Date | 10/09/2024 |