NHS Fife: Solving organisational challenges to maximise usability, efficiency & security
NHS Fife is an excellent example of a healthcare board diligently confronting the challenges that often obstruct or delay modernisation initiatives from progressing forward. GPs practices in Scotland operate independently however work collaboratively with Health Boards on their digital infrastructure, including print systems. Challenges relating to printing were identified within Fife due to the agile nature of various multi-disciplinary teams working within practices. The movement between practices, rooms and areas meant printing being only available in specific areas, which caused countless operational challenges.
NHS Fife have worked hard to support GP practices, increasing the number of workstations and laptops in its consulting rooms, however, to support effective service delivery they further considered what else could be done to support its GP’s.
A new approach to printing
NHS Fife sought a new print solution, the aim was a simple, a print-ready solution that would minimise set-up time, cut print errors, improve print security and allow workstation numbers, and therefore costs to be reduced. The objective was to deploy a solution that would allow any user connecting their laptop to a docking station to pick up their local printers automatically.
This fully vendor-agnostic solution would enable users to print to a ‘single queue’, with printing completed on the device in their room, to ensure confidentiality of sensitive patient data. SCC in partnership with Cirros worked together to develop a bespoke software solution utilising a SaaS-based print management platform. All prescriptions and sample labels can now be created as PDFs. Users simply send print jobs into the ‘Send to Cirros’ print queue, the document is automatically sent to a suitable approved and secure printer within the GP Practice. If no printer is found, the user can connect to a local or network-attached printer, without any need for intervention from the digital team.
NHS Fife are committed to move this programme forward and will continue with the roll out of the Cirros print solution over the course of 2024. The model has allowed the board to match operational need to expenditure, and to apply the solution to all types of hardware, to maximise usability and cost efficiency.
Solving organisational challenges
The success that NHS Fife has enjoyed with Cirros is not only good news for other healthcare bodies looking for similar print efficiency, but also for organisations in other sectors facing similar issues, especially in the era of agile and hybrid working. Schools, councils, education bodies and charities can all benefit from a vendor-agnostic solution such as Cirros. Indeed, for any organisation that is finding its IT resources overstretched by print issues, information security and operational complexity, Cirros represents the best way to gain clarity, efficiency and control.
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Speak to our experts about how SCC & Cirros can support your specific use cases and solve your print challenges.