EMIS PCS Enterprise helps Doncaster surgery conquer summer floods
We were disrupted temporarily but we weren’t left without access for long
EMIS PCS Enterprise helps Doncaster surgery conquer summer floods
The unseasonable weather of summer 2007 hit the UK hard. Homes, schools and surgeries across the country have been devastated by some of the worst floods in decades. When disaster strikes the disruption can be immense, meaning many businesses and services must stop – or so you might think.
Bentley Surgery, Doncaster is a busy GP practice, caring for almost 7,000 registered patients. So an interruption like the June floods was a near disaster. Luckily, the practice is part of a large scale EMIS PCS Enterprise system in Doncaster, hosting clinical data for 20 PCS GP practices, and more than 100,000 patient medical records.
From wide-spread panic to normal business in 48 working hours
Debbie Forbes-Hughes, Practice Manager, talks about their experience:
"On hearing the news about the floods, my instant reaction was one of wide-spread panic, mixed with worry for the patients and also the business."
The surgery is raised and has low air vents underneath the floor. The water had got past the sand bags and into the air vents, meaning surface water broke through to the treatment room floor.
The practice flooded on the Thursday, and as the fire service battled to cope with the water, EMIS and the PCT quickly worked together to ensure disruption to the practice and patients was minimal.
"We were disrupted temporarily but we weren’t left without access for long. Within 24 hours EMIS and Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust engineers had successfully installed a temporary system in place at the nearby Out of Hours centre, so that some semblance of patient care could continue. We were able to offer 24 hour care by telephone through the use of GP access to patient records – all thanks to EMIS."
"Thanks to the generosity of our neighbouring practice, we were able to resume business on Monday morning, by conducting scheduled clinics and consultations at their premises. I was over the moon that we could continue operating at another location, and the patients were happily amazed that the surgery was still up and running despite the flooding."
"Looking back, I’m just happy that we were on the Enterprise system. The situation could have been so much worse if our server had been part of the flood, we could have lost all our patient data. But now we know that our data is safe and secure."
Bentley Surgery wasn’t the only practice affected, a nearby practice was also flooded, but they too are part of the Enterprise and were able to continue working at another EMIS PCS practice with the help of EMIS PCS Enterprise.
Disaster recovery is only one of the benefits of moving to a hosted Enterprise system. Debbie comments: “We prefer hosting the clinical system off site because it means we don’t have to be responsible for daily back-ups, and it gives us the added bonus that we don’t need to worry about theft. We joined the Enterprise back in 2002, and all in all, the staff here think that PCS Enterprise is fantastic.
