Major Incident App and CMS

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Business Challenges

Location :UK

Project Type :Mobile App and CMS Development

Industry :Healthcare

Duration:2 years

Technologies :Android - ios

Technologies : ASP.NET Core, Firebase, OpenIddict, Entity Framework Core, SignalR, React.js, Redux.js, Bootstrap, Swift (iOS), Android Java

Business Challenges

We were approached by one of our long-standing clients Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and TrusTech to create two revolutionary apps and a robust single App Management Portal (CMS). This case study details the Major Incident focussed application and CMS which was created with the objective of improving communication and coordination between Opted-in members of clinical staff during a major incident (i.e. Manchester Arena bombing); requesting their medical assistance, availability and ETA, most importantly, bypassing any Silent or Do Not Disturb modes their device may be set to.

“TrusTech improves health and social care through innovation. We capture, develop and introduce new technologies and services that will improve citizen and patient care and increase system efficiency. TrusTech provides Membership Services for NHS organisations across the UK and Consultancy Services to industry, the public sector and academia globally.”

Excerpt from https://www.trustech.org.uk/

MIA as a concept was invented by Dr Peter Hulme, A&E, Manchester Foundation Trust, and designed and developed by us in conjunction with medical professionals with first-hand major incident clinical experience. The app uses cutting edge technology to aid emergency readiness and benefit public safety. Read Dr Hulme’s blog about the MIA app here at https://www.stemlynsblog.org/major-incidents-theres-now-a-new-app-for-that-too/

Our Solution

We met with the client to obtain a full understanding of the requirements, vision and target audience of MIA. We then narrowed down the MVP (minimum viable product) and produced a detailed proposal listing what we would deliver, how we would deliver it and within what timescales. Our Design and Business Analysis Team also got creative with how we felt the app might look and created some mock images for us to demo in the meeting, we find this is always the part where the client gets excited to see their idea become a reality! As with most projects, the MVP changes and expands along the way and our approach to project managing your solution in an agile “flexible” method means we were able to efficiently adapt to new additions, features and content within reason and where associated costs would not compromise on both delivery and profitability. Full branding was required for the solution including a logo. The clients wanted to stick with the NHS official colour palette and so after meetings and scoping sessions, our Designers produced 3 different logos and brand schemes from scratch to give the client an array of options to choose from. Once the client had signed off the design, it was now time for the Design Team to create a full design prototype so the client could see exactly what they were getting. As some of our staff have a background in both NHS and private healthcare (10+ years experience) we had a real insight into how clinicians think and work and how to tailor the solution to truly benefit the end-user. As with every project, we ensured we had a definitive sign off on every stage of the process and a clear audit trail of what had been agreed. At Desap Enterprises, we believe this part of the process is crucial to ensure that both the client and supplier are on the same page and to minimise scope creep. The bespoke App Management Portal allows secure “invite-only” admin login of key hospital staff. Once logged in, that’s where the key features of the system kick in, we obtained permission from Apple to utilise the critical alerts function (something which is very strictly regulated and has to be justified by a business case). Critical alerts bypass silent and do not disturb modes which phones may be set to; it’s important to remember that only apps meeting very strict criteria are approved to use this, for example; public health, safety and home security. The App Management Portal can push out critical alerts which bypass silent and do not disturb modes so the user won’t have to worry that they could miss the alert. Upon receiving the critical alert the app user is able to respond with an attending / not attending answer and also their estimated time of arrival which when fed through to the App Management Portal, allows major incident coordinators to accurately manage resources and care pathways.. A key part of the process was user acceptance testing. Once development was completed, we published the application to TestFlight (iOS and Android). Initially, we conducted several group testing sessions in-house with the team to identify any major bugs/fixes. We then moved on to wider group testing with close contacts including key leads within the healthcare system to review the content, functionality and features of the app. Once all of the raised bugs and issues were resolved, we moved into the deployment phase where we uploaded the updated builds to the Appstore and Playstore ready for review. After 24-48 hours the apps were finally approved and it was now time for our clients to test the live builds! We provided the client with a step by step user guides for both the app and App Management Portal alongside support personnel who were available 24-7 to answer any queries or questions. The handover and launch of this solution took place during the lockdown for the Covid19 pandemic 2020 so this was a real testament to the dedication and flexibility for our team at Desap Enterprises that we were able to seamlessly deliver.

Business Benefits

Enabled critical alerts to ensure maximum response rate for incidents
ETA specific (ensure your major incident responders can be where you need them when you need them)
Provide major incident response statistics both in real-time and for retrospective lessons learned
Sleek in design and easy to use
Fully GDPR compliant solution
Secure access e.g. invite only
Managed by a bespoke admin system for clear audit trails and robust governance

Read more here about this systems partnering app…

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