Care Providers

Case study: Horder Healthcare

Horder Healthcare, an independent charity hospital group with sites in Crowborough and East Grinstead, has partnered with Radar Healthcare on a transformative journey to enhance its quality, risk management and clinical governance practices.

During a recent conversation with Horder Healthcare’s Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance, David Johnson, we discussed their experiences and successes since implementing the Incident and Events module.

Horder Healthcare is renowned for its expertise in orthopaedic procedures and is one of the UK’s largest providers of hip and knee replacements. The organisation extends its services to plastic surgery and other medical services, performing over 500 operations each month.

With a commitment to delivering high-quality patient care, David and his team soon recognised the need for a more streamlined approach to risk management and clinical governance.

In this case study, David covers their transition from disparate systems to adopting a unified solution and provides insights into what lies ahead for Horder Healthcare.

Summary of success

Streamlined incident reporting

Quicker incident investigation and sign off.
Integration and visibility

Moving to a single platform for incident reporting, risk management, policy management and audit management.
Configurability and adaptability

Ability to tailor questions, forms, and workflows to their specific operational needs.
Quick implementation

Implemented incidents and events in less than 9 weeks with the help of their Project Manager, Craig Wiseman.
Regulatory compliance

Increased awareness among staff with Duty of Candour.

Download our Horder Healthcare case study

“There weren’t many systems out there with a built-in document management feature, or if there was, it was often an add-on or not integrated. What really appealed to us was the ability to triangulate and have everything in one place.”

David Johnson, Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance at Horder Healthcare

Time, Visibility, and Implementation

One of the major challenges faced by Horder Healthcare and the Radar Healthcare team was the tight deadline for transitioning from one system to another. This challenge was further complicated by the potential absence of an incident reporting system. David praised the support they received from the Radar Healthcare team, especially during the critical early stages. He also highlighted the system’s configurability, which allowed for rapid adjustments and personalisation.

“We were really impressed with our Project Manager, Craig Wiseman’s, support during those early stages in terms of getting us up and running. We also liked the configurability, which made it more personalised to Horder Healthcare. We could include all the department locations and tailor questions to be specific to Horder Healthcare’s needs.” – David Johnson, Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance

Before David’s arrival at Horder Healthcare, their quality and governance systems were disjointed. The incident reporting system operated independently from the policy and risk management processes, while audits were manually conducted through spreadsheets.

“Now, everything will be interconnected. Incidents will seamlessly interact with risk management, policies, and audits; Radar Healthcare is providing a cohesive system.”

David Johnson, Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance at Horder Healthcare

Streamlining Operations to Achieve their Business Goals’

Horder Healthcare chose Radar Healthcare over all other suppliers for a significant reason: the ability to centralise all essential functions, including risk management, incident reporting, audits, and policies, within one easily accessible system. By reducing the number of systems used, they’ve enhanced efficiency, data accuracy, and increased collaboration and communication among their teams. In addition, David and his team sought a solution that could be tailored to their individual needs and business objectives.

"Radar Healthcare is extremely configurable... we can really make it personal to Horder Healthcare. The ability to tailor questions, integrate incident reporting, risk management, and policy management, and the promise of dashboards were pivotal in our decision.”

David Johnson, Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance at Horder Healthcare

Unlocking Insights: AI-driven Dashboards

In addition to the goal of increasing visibility of incidents, risks, and policies, dashboards were also a significant focus. The organisation was keen to ensure data and key performance indicators were readily available at different hierarchical levels, ranging from executives to departmental teams.

“Having all that key information and data being brought into one place was a great learning opportunity for us. Due to our governance and assurance team being fairly small, we really needed an AI-driven technology solution that would be able to support us in providing staff with the right information at the right time, help spot trends, and reduce workload so we could have more time to focus on safety and quality improvement.”– David Johnson, Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance

Moreover, David and his team are tasked with providing monthly reports to senior team members, contract meetings, and committees. On average, this process consumes 25 hours per week. The objective with Radar Healthcare’s analytics dashboards is to centralise this data, automatically update and upload it, making it easier to extract and present information to others, while drilling down into key areas.

Compliance with Duty of Candour

Radar Healthcare’s Incident Management module plays an instrumental role in enhancing the quality and compliance aspects of Horder Healthcare, and has already resulted in an increase in compliance with the Duty of Candour within teams, facilitated by a prompt that is triggered when reporting an incident.

While the full impact of Radar Healthcare’s integration is yet to be fully realised, staff awareness of Duty of Candour has increased, indicating a positive cultural shift. Compliance with ethical practices related to patient care has noticeably improved.

"One of the positive outcomes consistently mentioned by staff when discussing Radar Healthcare is the increased awareness of the Duty of Candor."

David Johnson, Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance at Horder Healthcare

Looking to the Future: Enhanced Audits and Analytics

David expressed anticipation for future enhancements, particularly with Radar Healthcare’s Enhanced Audit Management and Analytics Builder modules. These features hold the potential to provide deeper insights into trends and themes within the organisation’s data.

Looking ahead, Horder Healthcare’s plans include using Radar Healthcare more effectively to tackle and comply with ever-changing regulatory frameworks and assessments, including the CQC (Care Quality Commission), PSIRF (Patient Safety Incident Response Framework), and LFPSE (Learning From Patient Safety Events). Radar Healthcare will play a pivotal role in providing data and insights to improve patient safety.

“Once our audits are operational, we’ll be well-prepared for regulatory compliance assessments, providing us with greater confidence with CQC. Radar Healthcare's enhanced audit management module will enable us to generate actions and learning which we can then readily provide as evidence for the CQC.”

David Johnson, Head of Risk Management and Clinical Governance at Horder Healthcare

Summing up: Advice, Best Practices, and Developing Our Partnership

For organisations considering similar solutions, David shared his tips for a successful implementation: “Plan well in advance and allow sufficient time for staff familiarisation.” He also emphasised the need for active involvement to tailor the system to organisational needs.

Horder Healthcare’s journey with Radar Healthcare has been transformative, addressing long-standing challenges in risk management and clinical governance. With a unified platform, enhanced visibility, and plans for future improvements, the organisation is well-positioned to continue delivering high-quality care and maintaining a culture of safety and compliance.