Case Story

Manchester Foundation Trust

Data Quality & Validation

Cleansing and validating over 750,000 patient records
Download Case Study

Original team based at Baguley Residence on the main Wythenshawe Hospital site

One of the key locations used for this project

One of the later cohorts based at Trafford House

The Challenge

Merging and cleansing a large amount of data for a number of Trusts.

At the outset of the project, on-going Data Validation was being carried out across the Greater Manchester region to support the Manchester Foundation’s Trust-wide Electronic Patient Record (EPR) solution, called Hive, and an innovative online patient portal, MyMFT, with the aim of transforming how the Manchester Foundation Trust (MFT) could provide better, consistent healthcare, wherever their patients are treated.

Powered by tried and tested Epic software, Hive provides wide-spread change and improvement that would realise benefits for patients and create organisational efficiencies for staff for many years to come. However, to make the transition to the new platform, almost 750,000 existing patient records needed to be cleansed and made fit for purpose. 

This was further complicated by the fact that the NHS in Manchester was trying to manage patients across numerous sites. It made sense for the Trusts to merge, however, part of this would be to merge an extensive amount of data.

As Lorna Kinsey, Project Lead for max20 Project Solutions explains: ““MFT needed a team of people to work as part of the Trust’s Data Quality Team to review the current patient administration systems that the merged Trusts had in place, and to clean the data in preparation for migration to the Epic EPR system.”

There were a large number of records to deal with, including “open registrations”. These are created when someone is referred to a consultant, then back to their GP, but the referral is not closed out on the system. This meant not only did the data need cleansing, it also needed investigation and potentially new systems put in place to close this loop.

The Solution

Building an organised, committed and knowledgeable team

The Epic team, in charge of Hive, was embedded within the Manchester Foundation Trust (MFT) team and with all stakeholders for a period prior to the data migration. It was agreed that to achieve a successful migration a thorough investigation and cleansing of all data would be required.

Once the funding had been agreed internally by the MFT management team, Clare Hartley, Head of Data Quality, Informatics Patient Services at MFT, approached max20 Project Solutions, amongst other suppliers, with the project details. Max20 was successful in securing the work because we truly understood the importance of helping to secure efficiencies and improvements. By working on a project like this, we knew we could facilitate these improvements, which was the greater motive for delivering on this programme. We also appreciated from the outset that it was of utmost importance that we managed our agreed budget closely throughout the project. 

Recruitment of clerical staff for max20’s delivery team was key.  We used our experience to quickly estimate the size of team required and then mobilised the necessary processes, recruiting candidates from our internal databases, job boards, and networking with existing Associates. We prioritised building a diverse team, reflective of the North of England and the NHS, and sought candidates with logical, organised mindset. This included Computer Graduates, Accountants and Biomedical Scientists, who could commit to the project’s length, to ensure data quality continuity. This focus on rapid, effective mobilisation and selecting individuals with the right mindset and commitment was central to the successful delivery of the large-scale project.

As with any large data project, it was inevitable that some clerks would be more efficient than others, but we knew from experience that this often evens out. To manage the project efficiently and effectively, we always take into account these risks, as well as extra fees and contingencies. This means there is no interruption to project delivery. That’s one of the great strengths of max20.

Merging patient demographics on the Patient Access Systems and cleaning the data

The project itself was delivered over two phases.

Phase 1 of the project, which began in July 2021, involved an initial team of 9 PAS Clerks, 2 Team Leaders and 2 Data Quality Managers, to start the data cleansing process. The primary workstreams for this initial cohort were to merge patient demographics on the Patient Access Systems and to address “open registrations,” with a daily target of 65 to 100 open records per clerk. The Team Leaders were responsible for providing training and ongoing support, allocating work, performing audit and quality assurance, and collating performance statistics and reports for the Manchester Foundation Trust (MFT). After the initial team was trained and in place, max20 introduced subsequent cohorts of 15 to 25 trained staff every few months, assigning them to work in various clinical services, such as the main campus, maternity unit, the dental hospital and children’s hospital, to be closer to the specific data they were working on. >It was a big challenge, but we were up to it and able to deliver under time.

For Phase 2, in February 2022, the project expanded with the addition of 11 RTT Validators for second-line validation and 11 more PAS Clerks, managed in an agile fashion to maintain a continuous flow of clean data to NHS developers preparing for the Epic launch. This process culminated in the successful go-live of the Trust-wide Electronic Patient Record (EPR) solution on 9th September 2022, with little need for the Trust’s direct involvement. They knew the outcomes required on the date agreed would be delivered.

Following the launch, a team of 30 people was maintained on-site, until March 2023, to ensure Trust staff adhered to new workflows and cultures, a critical part of max20’s delivery.

The Outcome

750,000 records processed on time and with a committed workforce

Max20 successfully completed the bulk of the work, processing just under 750,000 records, and hit 100% of the project’s delivery dates. This was achieved thanks to our commitment to carrying out  regular review meetings with the teams on site, as well as by phone and email. We did whatever we could in line with the ongoing pandemic rules and limitations.

Throughout the project, we were speaking regularly with the Trust to manage their expectations, as well as to get their views and monitor any changes. Often, they fed back that they had further work streams coming on board, so they needed teams for longer. Immediately we would start planning for that. This level of detail was important because we had to be accountable. Importantly, it meant MFT always felt supported right through from start to finish. 

“Lorna supported right through to the end, even providing seven members of staff at short notice to deliver the last bits of documentation from the legacy systems. 

We needed an experienced team to come in at short notice because it was coming to the end of the project and the end of the financial year. We projected that it would take about 23 working days. max20 finished with a day to spare.” – Mellissa Blakeley, Health Records EDMS/HIVE EPR Lead for MFT 

Importantly, we finished as we started; everything managed and under control. That’s a big strength of max20, our ability to manage continuity for staff and clients.

An additional positive outcome of our project work is that it is not always just one-off work. There are often additional opportunities that follow. As a result of any NHS data / IT projects run by max20, people are, in effect, ‘fast-tracked’ into eligibility for permanent NHS roles. The experience and training gained during the MFT project, financed by max20, made it possible for 8 PAS Clerks to take jobs in the NHS at no additional cost to the Trusts.

Helping the NHS to acquire trained and experienced staff at no cost to them is something we are proud to be able to deliver. We see it as a very positive by-product of a successful NHS project.

Key Highlights

• The core challenge involved cleansing and preparing almost 750,000 existing patient records for migration to MFT’s new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) solution, Hive, powered by Epic software.

• max20 secured the work by demonstrating a clear understanding of the project’s goal: securing long-term organisational efficiencies and improvements for MFT.

• The solution involved building a diverse, committed team, recruiting candidates with logical mindsets.

• Phase 1 of the project began with an initial team of 9 PAS Clerks, 2 Team Leaders, and 2 Data Quality Managers, focusing on merging patient demographics and clearing open registrations.

• Subsequent cohorts were introduced every few months and assigned to various clinical services to work closer to the specific data teams.

• Phase 2 added 11 RTT Validators for second-line validation and 11 more PAS Clerks, managed in an agile fashion to ensure a continuous flow of clean data.

• max20 successfully processed around 750,000 records, completing the bulk of the work on time and ensuring Epic’s, the new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) solution, successful go-live

• In addition, training and experience gained by the team made 8 PAS Clerks eligible for permanent NHS roles at no additional cost to the Trust.

In Numbers

• Project dates – July 2021 to September 2022
• 80 – 100 PAS Clerks
• 11 RTT Validators
• 2 Team Leaders
• 2 Data Quality Managers
• 73 total team members recruited and trained
• ~750,000 patient records cleansed/closed out
• ~18,000 extra patient records cleansed/validated
• 1 excellent wrap party to thank everyone for their hard work

 “We keep close to everyone so if there are any issues, we spot them early. We work hard to manage things effectively, and part of that winning process is getting everyone together at the end to show a little love!” – Lorna, Max20 Project Lead, after the final wrap party

Download Case Study