Audit Ready Facilities Management Systems
Case Study
Being Audit Ready in a Healthcare Setting
Supporting Patient Welfare & Audit Compliance
With patient welfare as a cornerstone within any healthcare setting, protecting patient and staff welfare is of critical importance. It is imperative to implement robust systems that support the key functions within the facility, from protecting key infrastructure to the soft services that support infection control and maintain compliance with legislation.
There are many areas within a hospital or healthcare setting that patients never see, yet their welfare and comfort depend on them. Each area needs attention and proactive monitoring. Some of this monitoring is mandated by legislation but all work within the hospital needs to be recorded and one of the best ways to do that is with a Facilities Management system like Azolla.
ROI Justification
- Reduced Audit Preparation
- Improved Hand Hygiene Compliance
- Reduced Corrective Actions
Key Concepts
- Planned Maintenance
- Audit Ready
- HIQA
- Enhanced Reputation
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Always Compliant Ready
Client overview
Highfield Healthcare is a leading provider of acute and specialist mental health services in Ireland. The company has been providing care since 1825. Today the provider has over 400 staff employed with 300 beds, split across nursing home care and mental health services.
Highfield Healthcare is comprised of two main facilities on one main site. Nursing short stay comprising six buildings and the main hospital.
the Problem
Highfield Healthcare were initially looking for a Facilities Management software system that could implement a preventative maintenance plan allowing the facility to manage both internal resources and contractors. The system would need to manage both hard and soft maintenance, store documentation and allow permit to work to be issued in conjunction with high risk work.
The chosen system needed to be audit ready at all times. The ability to access previous work, audit it and demonstrate compliance for statutory work was mandatory. The ability to satisfy and exceed expectations from regulatory audits by the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) would also be key.
the solution
Azolla software allowed Highfield Healthcare to create a maintenance plan encompassing medical, electrical and mechanical work for both facilities. Work can be pre-allocated to the contractor or internal contact, which means that once work is due on the system it is automatically sent to that person. There is no need for double handling. This means that any upcoming work is automatically emailed to the contractor, in advance of attending site, along with a defined set of tasks that need to be completed. Where the same contractor is completing multiple jobs, then an excel file with work details is attached to the email removing the need for the contractor to have a system login. This significantly reduces the administration overhead of managing contractor work as well as a common objection in interacting with a client system.
The Azolla supplier module also allows contractors’ mandatory documentation, including insurance details, to be tracked on the system. Automatic email reminders also notify the contractor of any expiring documentation. The supplier self-service function can be used to allow the contractor to submit their new documentation on-line for review, helping to reduce administration costs and ensuring compliance.
When the contractor completes the allocated work on site, the service report can be attached. Any job completed by a contractor can be highlighted ‘for review’ to ensure that all key information is filled in correctly, including the attachment of a service report. This ensure no surprises during a HIQA audit.
In the case of high risk work, a permit can be issued to ensure that work is completed safely. A permit is created on Azolla and then emailed from within the system to the contractor. The contractor can then attach a method statement for the upcoming work and respond to any questions from within the email. This response is then stored within Azolla for review and is auditable later. The completed permit can be issued and printed when the contractor arrives on site.
Audit Ready
Azolla allows Highfield Healthcare to demonstrate compliance on all work completed on site, simply and easily. During scheduled or unplanned audits, historical work can be accessed, service reports reviewed and completion dates and details confirmed. Audits have become easy and compliance guaranteed.
Audit Overhead Reduction
Azolla has allowed Highfield Healthcare to facilitate the move to a paperless environment. This move has saved time in terms of filing service reports, storage costs, reduced the environmental impact in terms of paper and ink, while the retrieval time for records has provided the highest cost saving.
The Benefits
Azolla has removed the level of paper in the organisation with the move to electronic service reports. This has reduced costs in terms of administrative time, paper storage costs and more importantly record retrieval.
The review process ensures that completed work is reviewed in a timely way, incomplete records amended and improved record compliance. Missing paperwork is a thing of the past.
Successful Audits support our compliance culture, improve outcomes for patients and enhances our reputation.
- Reduction in Audit Preparation 35 %
- Hygiene Compliance 40%
- One Sheet of Paper is 364 Times more costly than a Digital Record
- Audit Compliance 100%