December 2021
All of us at Digital Health and Care Wales wish you and your family
a peaceful Christmas and happy New Year.
Welsh Immunisation System ramps up for booster vaccines 
Following the announcement of the acceleration of booster jabs, DHCW has  supported health boards to set up 1 million extra COVID-19 vaccine appointments by the end of December.  
 
The Welsh Immunisation System (WIS) - designed and managed by DHCW – is providing system generated appointments (SGAs) to create short notice slots and ensure appointments are filled as efficiently as possible.  
 
It is reported that the number of SGAs requested by health boards has tripled this week following  the announcement of the booster campaign by the UK Government on 12th December. 
 
An upgrade to WIS last month included two-way texting for vaccine appointments, allowing people to respond to invitations via text, to cancel or reschedule. This has helped to reduce the number of people missing appointments and additional phone calls to health board booking offices.  
 
WIS is the information system behind the scheduling, invitations and recording of  COVID-19 vaccinations for the population of Wales. It ensures that individuals are allocated vaccinations in the correct order and locations. It centrally manages appointment letters and texts.  
Community pharmacists record over 160,000 seasonal flu vaccinations on Choose Pharmacy
The Choose Pharmacy application is available in 98% of community pharmacies in Wales to support accredited pharmacists in the delivery of enhanced clinical services. 

The application started with one module for Common Ailments and now includes six services.

The Seasonal Flu Vaccination Service supports the national seasonal flu vaccination effort by offering patients an additional location in which to receive their flu vaccinations. More than 160,000 flu vaccinations have been recorded this season, compared with 92,500 last year and 64,000 in 2019/2020.

With the patient’s consent, the pharmacist can refer to their Welsh GP record to check medication or allergy information thereby improving patient safety. The patient’s GP receives an electronic record of the consultation and vaccine used.

Many patients find accessing clinical services at their pharmacy very convenient. There is a pharmacy on nearly every high street, pharmacies are open in the evenings and many offer walk-in appointments. 
New Digital Emergency Department system starts national rollout in Neath Port Talbot
Neath Port Talbot Minor Injuries Unit is the first in Wales to use a new national Emergency Department (A&E) system. The digital system will replace paper records and provide an electronic tracking grid to give healthcare professionals real-time information on a patient’s treatment.
 
The Minor Injuries Unit previously used paper-based casualty cards to record patients care, but the new system creates digital records which can be shared safely and quickly with other departments and healthcare professionals.
 
Following the successful launch of the system in Neath Port Talbot, the system will be installed in Swansea's Morriston Hospital early in 2022, and rolled out to other parts of Wales during next year.
DHCW Service Desk in finals for globally-recognised award
Our Digital Health and Care Wales Service Desk team have made it to the final three for the Best Service Desk (Large Enterprise) category in this year's Service Desk Institute (SDI) Awards.

The SDI represents thousands of companies and service desk professionals in over 150 countries. SDI's awards praise IT service and support teams that deliver the highest levels of customer excellence and service to each and every customer.

The SDI Awards 2022 will be held on the 22nd March 2022, at the Birmingham Hilton Metropole.

Our Service Desk services all of NHS Wales and acts as the single point of contact between local service desks and national support teams. It provides a focal point for reporting incidents and making service requests.