Transforming Bed Management in NHS Mother and Baby Units
The Challenge
Wessex NHS faced a pressing issue: a shortage of beds in their mother and baby units. They needed a solution to quickly identify available beds across the UK without manually contacting each unit. The goal was to streamline the relocation process for mothers and babies, but the challenge was compounded by the lack of any existing system and the need for an intuitive solution that non-technical staff could easily use.
The Solution
To address this, we collaborated closely with Wessex NHS, conducting workshops with stakeholders and staff to understand their needs and technical capabilities. This research informed the development of an MVP (Minimum Viable Product) that would meet their requirements while being user-friendly.
We chose Laravel for development and worked in two-week sprints, maintaining regular communication with management. Our initial prototype focused on core features and was tested by a small group in Hampshire’s Mother & Baby units. Feedback from this testing phase guided us in refining the user experience, expanding essential features, and adding functionality for data sharing with neighbouring health authorities.
The Impact
During its beta phase in 17 Mother & Baby units across the Wessex region, the NHSBeds app proved highly effective. It achieved 100% uptake and consistent usage throughout the six-month trial. Inquiry times were drastically reduced from over 30 minutes per day to under 1 minute, and bed occupancy improved significantly. Following its success, the WebBeds app has been rolled out nationwide to all mother and baby units and is set for expansion across all NHS departments in the UK.
In late 2018, our work was highly commended at the prestigious NHS Digital Awards in the “Improving Care with Technology” category.
Testimonials
“We had two applications built, and the team supported us every step of the way, from concept to launch. Everyone involved was fantastic. I can’t recommend Evolved enough.”
— Jenny Walsh, Wessex Clinical Lead for Perinatal Mental Health, NHS