Written Customer Story

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust (MTW) is a leading acute trust operating in Kent, serving diverse communities through three major hospital sites and multiple satellite locations. With a workforce of approximately 8,000, the trust delivers a wide range of services, including maternity care, post-acute treatment, and end-of-life care.

By 2023, MTW faced several governance challenges stemming from outdated systems and fragmented processes. Determined to modernize and optimize operations, the trust sought a new solution to centralize its governance approach, enhance data quality, and improve oversight. This search led them to Ideagen InPhase, a governance platform capable of consolidating multiple systems, streamlining workflows, and driving actionable insights.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust win at the HSJ Patient Safety Awards

What the customer says:

“It reduces the burden on admin staff and improves data capture”

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Contact the team

Case Study

Before transitioning to Ideagen InPhase, MTW relied on multiple platforms and manual processes for governance. This fragmented approach introduced inefficiencies and risks, as Carrie Carpenter, Trust Patient Safety Specialist, explained, “We had spreadsheets for areas like safeguarding, and realized just how easily someone could accidentally delete that critical data.”

Datix, which the trust had used for years, became rigid over time, with legacy fields and categories making the system cumbersome. “There was no change control process,” Carrie shared. “We’d inherited a system filled with unnecessary fields and extra categories built up over time.” Reporting on Datix required manual data extraction and analysis, making it time-consuming and prone to inaccuracies.

With Ideagen InPhase, MTW consolidated all governance-related operations, eliminating reliance on standalone systems and spreadsheets. The platform’s customization capabilities enabled MTW to design their forms, categories, and dashboards to meet specific needs. MTW purchased several modules for patient safety, quality assurance, compliance, risk and safeguarding to centralize governance processes under one system.

Customized Dashboards for Real-Time Insights

Real-time dashboards provided meaningful insights into trends, compliance, and patient safety, helping the trust streamline reporting. Recognizing the scale of this transformation, MTW took a structured approach to implementation under time and resource constraints. “We went dashboard crazy,” Carrie acknowledged. “But the oversight we now have is incredible.”

Maternity and Care Coordination Dashboards

Following a challenging CQC inspection, the trust developed a comprehensive maternity dashboard to track key indicators and support compliance. A care coordination dashboard integrates live governance insights with patient flow data to inform placement decisions and improve bed management.

Self-Reporting for PALS Cases and Complaints

MTW introduced a self-logging feature for PALS cases, allowing patients to report directly into the system via links or QR codes. The trust plans to extend this functionality to formal complaints. “It reduces the burden on admin staff and improves data capture,” Carrie explained, adding that it also provides better demographic insights for addressing health inequalities.

MTW has already seen measurable improvements from their Ideagen InPhase implementation. Incident reporting increased from 1,300 per month to over 2,000, reflecting improved user engagement and system usability.

Data quality has significantly improved through streamlined forms and categories, enabling actionable insights and real-time oversight. Dashboards have replaced manual reporting processes, saving hours each month and improving governance meeting efficiency. Automation of PALS case logging and complaints data collection has reduced administrative burdens.

The flexibility of Ideagen InPhase enabled the hospital to introduce meaningful innovations. Customizable dashboards became a standout feature, helping teams and leadership alike access real-time insights into patient safety, risk, and governance metrics. While the dashboards were still being finalized, the team saw immense potential. “Dashboards are key to accessibility,” Kate noted. “Our focus at the moment is building these to meet the needs of teams and the trust.”

The trust’s innovative use of Ideagen InPhase has earned it shortlisting for two HSJ Patient Safety awards, celebrating its achievements in governance and reporting.

With a strong foundation in place, MTW plans to expand the system’s functionality and further enhance its governance processes. Launching self-logging for formal complaints and improving complaint coding for thematic analysis. Developing enhanced dashboards to support emerging priorities. Using demographic data captured during PALS and complaints logging to address health inequalities and improve patient outcomes.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust’s successful transition to Ideagen InPhase highlights the potential for governance transformation. By consolidating multiple systems into a single platform, MTW has achieved better reporting, stronger oversight, and measurable improvements in patient outcomes. With plans for continuous development, the trust is ready to sustain and build on its progress.

For healthcare organizations seeking to modernize their governance systems and improve patient safety, Ideagen InPhase offers a proven, flexible solution. Contact us today to explore how we can support your transformation.