Solutions

Issue:

• Resistance from IT departments and managers to listen to your concerns and issues and act on them

 Possible solutions: 

• Use quotes in conversations and correspondence from the relevant acts and legislation
• Arrange meetings with IT where service users are also present to demonstrate why they need access to the technology and the impact for the service user of not having this access
• Refer to outcome measures and the service’s inability to meet these outcomes without access to relevant technology
• Arrange meetings where IT must use technology/ AAC systems to communicate to demonstrate the difficulties our service users face and how technology can positively support them  Video of service user
• Remind IT that their end users are the SERVICE USERS, not staff and therefore you are leading a crusade on behalf of patients, not SLTs

Issue:

• No access to Skype (or other software) either due to it being blocked or not having installation permissions

Possible solutions: 

• Try running software from a USB drive rather than downloading to the hardware (if you have permission to use a USB drive)
• Identify with IT the exact reason you cannot use it to make arguing your case easier
• Identify if it is used elsewhere (e.g. by managers) and then make a case for why your department also needs access
• Complete an incident/risk report stating that it was impossible to provide appropriate therapy (or AAC system) or the patient is at risk of isolation & depression without access or there has been a breach of information governance if the patient & clinician have had to access the software from elsewhere
• Ask for an alternative equivalent software (e.g. Web EX instead of Skype). A lot of healthcare providers have their own video conferencing software which can be used throughout the Trust for meetings and patient contact
• Find out if your healthcare provider uses the ‘Patient Knows Best’ system which incorporates Skype as one of its functions

Issues:

• No internet connection in the NHS Trust for non-networked devices
• SLTs are taking devices home to program/update
• Not enough bandwith on Guest Wifi

Possible solutions:

• Explore whether it is possible to use the service’s Guest Wifi (designed for patient & visitor access). In some healthcare settings this is provided by hotel services although in most it is provided by the IT department.
• Obtain charitable funding for WiFi connection (see “Find Funding” for a list of suggested funding sources & useful documentation for making funding requests)
• Look into the possibility of the SLT department taking out a monthly subscription for their own, separate connection (this costs around £30/month)
• Approach your IT department and request a separate access WiFi point in the SLT department (for some SLT departments, this has cost around £200 within their Trust network)
• Request from the IT department an SSID (Service Set Identifier) to enable occasional downloads & upgrades if you don’t need regular/constant access
• Ask the IT department about the possibility of setting up a group, segregated from but still part of the Trust network
• If local IT don’t have the money to carry out the necessary work, try approaching the NHS technology fund (£1bn was made available to upgrade NHS networks nationwide)
• Ask the IT department whether they provide 4G for their clinicians (e.g. for mobile working on ipads)
• Liaise with other departments who need access (e.g. diabetes, psychology, ICU). We are stronger together –a number of services making the same demands are more likely to be successful than one, small service on its own
• If there are no options within your healthcare setting, consider completing an incident report/Datix stating that it was impossible to provide appropriate therapy (or AAC system) due to a lack of internet access
• If there are no options within your healthcare setting, consider completing a risk management complaint stating that the (named) patient is at risk of isolation & depression without access to the technology which requires internet access for the clinician to set it up and update it
• If SLTs are taking technology home in order to set it up/update software, consider completing an incident/datix report since there has been a breach of information governance