Bleepa: Transforming Referral Response Times

DigitalHealth.London Accelerator alumnus company Feedback Medical share the findings from a recent assessment revealing the successful impact of Bleepa, their clinical communications platform, at Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust.

An independent review has identified the benefits of Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust’s use of Feedback Medical’s clinical communications platform Bleepa. The review, conducted across 10,000 referrals since its implementation in 2019, underscores notable improvements such as reduced referral times, increased staff efficiency, shorter patient stays, and overall system savings for both the Trust and the Integrated Care Board.

Key Findings:

Referral Response Times

• Average referral response time in the respiratory speciality was reduced by 87%, from 2.1 days (as identified in a previous study (Beattie, 2020)) to 0.28 days, showcasing the platform’s effectiveness.
• Overall, across respiratory, cardiology, and gastroenterology, the referral-to-review time decreased by 74%, from 2.1 days to 0.55 days. This was a reduction of 1.55 days compared to the 2.1-day average time lag recorded before the platform’s deployment at the Trust.

Staff Experience

• 76% of staff reported time savings using Bleepa, aligning with quantitative findings.
• 80% of surveyed staff acknowledged improvements in staff communication as compared to traditional referral methods.

Patient Experience

• Quicker referral response times hint at faster treatment, potentially leading to shorter patient stays.

Economic Benefits

• Estimated savings of £819,000 over five years (till the 2027/2028 financial year) from streamlined referrals, efficient messaging, and reduced patient stays at the Trust.
• Widespread adoption in the Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board could also unlock £7.7 million in savings over the same period.

We worked with the Bleepa team to make sure we had a minimum data set for referral data. We’ve also found it good in terms of asynchronous working – we don’t necessarily have to traipse around the hospital with a list of patients to see referrals, we can manage them remotely. We’ve also then been able to message the team with clear instructions as to what’s been going on. The secure messaging has allowed us to progress patient care in a faster way.

Georges Ng Man Kwong
Chief Clinical Information Officer (Bury, Rochdale and Oldham)

To find out more, check out “Northern Care Alliance cuts inpatient referral times by three quarters using Bleepa” and the full evaluation report.

Feedback Medical is an alumnus of the DigitalHealth.London Accelerator programme.

The DigitalHealth.London Accelerator is a collaborative programme funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, the Health Innovation Network South London, the Office of Life Sciences, CW+, the Mayor of London and the Levelling Up Fund.