Nurses making more than 75,000 medical visits a year to enable often seriously ill people to be cared for at home are being given hi-tech help by University experts.
Healthcare at Home Limited provides private medical care for more than 5,000 patients a year around the UK, including those needing treatment for acute and chronic illnesses.
It is currently developing an online training and advice centre to replace the paper based system currently used by its 150 specialist nurses - thanks to IT experts at the University of Derby.
The software system developed with the University's Innovation 4 Learning (I4L) team will eventually mean that regular changes to training materials and policies will no longer require time spent reprinting and distributing paper-based information to nursing staff across the UK.
Staff will instead get their updates by logging on at home or in one of Healthcare at Home's regional offices. The company is based in Burton-Upon-Trent, Staffordshire.
Terry Fox, Business Development Manager for the University's I4L team, said: "In the changing world of home healthcare, you can imagine the difficulties inherent in constantly having to update the guidance for so many staff.
"With the latest version of our intelligent shell system (ISS) - called Intelligent Mobile Communication - that we've developed for Healthcare at Home, the company's staff can receive the latest training and clinical information anywhere in the world."
Healthcare at Home treats private and NHS patients using specialist nurses. The majority of patients are referred to it by consultants in specialities including oncology, orthopaedics, respiratory medicine, rheumatology, endocrinology, neurology, gastroenterology, cardiology and renal.
Procedures such as delivering intravenous antibiotics, blood transfusions, chemotherapy and related support therapies are routinely administered to patients in their own homes, or even at work. For consultants, this provides a safe, clinically proven and highly effective treatment option.
Danny Bouckley, Head of Human Resources for Healthcare at Home, added: "Collaborating with the University of Derby on this project has been a great experience.
"The new system, due to launch in March, means that our employees can keep up to date with the latest information no matter where they are."
The University's I4L team has a track record of providing innovative IT ideas for healthcare providers.
It has previously helped develop two online assessment and e-learning packages called Safe Prescribing for New Doctors and Medicines Administration for Nurses, currently in use by East Midlands hospitals, which test medical staff on their knowledge over the prescribing of drugs combinations for patients and the likely effects on patients.
About The University of Derby: The University of Derby is a thriving institution inspired by a dedication to quality and opportunity. It is an innovator in flexible modular study and e-learning solutions tailoring programmes to students' needs.
The University is home to a diverse community of over 20,000 students from the UK and overseas. Subjects offered to students include a wide range of disciplines in Arts, Design and Technology; Business, Computing and Law; and Education, Health and Sciences, all leaders in their field.
In the Teaching Quality Information (TQI) National Student Survey for 2007, Law at the University of Derby was top in the UK for student satisfaction. The Law course also rated first in the UK for Personal Development, Teaching and Academic Support.
The Learning Through Work team in the School of Flexible and Partnership Learning won the prestigious 2006 Times Higher Education Supplement Award for 'Most Imaginative Use Of Distance Learning'. The team has an enviable track record of delivering higher education courses to employees. Last year the University was shortlisted for the award of 'University of the Year' alongside five others.
The University of Derby Students' Union, a number of research centres and academic schools, including The Derbyshire Business School, are all based at the Kedleston Road site. Facilities include our new £1.5m Clinical Skills Suite and a pioneering computer games development suite.
The UK's first dedicated site for arts, design and technology was opened by Sir Richard Branson, President of Virgin Atlantic, in autumn 2007. It forms just one part of a £55m estates investment strategy that is creating a University Quarter for Derby, building on the success of our multiple award winning £23m campus in the Peak District spa town of Buxton.
The Devonshire Campus at Buxton is the result of five years of careful restoration. Teaching there commenced in September 2005 and the Devonshire was opened officially by Their Royal Highnesses Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall in February 2006. The building's centrepiece is a magnificent Dome, larger than St Paul's in London - its facilities are among the finest in Europe.
All our schools and faculties enjoy links with household names such as Rolls-Royce and Toyota. The University Quarter in Derby incorporates sites at Kedleston Road, Markeaton Street and Britannia Mill to the west of Derby city centre.
Derby achieved University status in 1992. In 2006 it won an 'Improving Working Lives' award sponsored by the Times Higher Education Supplement. Professor John Coyne has been the University's Vice-Chancellor since the summer of 2004. For more information check out their website at: http://www.derby.ac.uk
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