T-Systems South Africa, as part of its Nation Building Initiative and extension of their partnership with 400m World record holder, Wayde van Niekerk and his Wayde Dreamer Foundation, have donated a patient management solution to the Newborns Groote Schuur Trust.
The Newborns Groote Schuur Trust, an independent Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO) was founded in 2008 and raises funds to support the work of the Neonatal unit at the Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town, primarily for the care and treatment of over 2000 of the 40 000 babies born in the Metro West (Southern Peninsula) region annually.
According to Mpumi Nhlapo, Head of T-Systems South Africa’s IT Portfolio and Solution Sales, this particular initiative was a natural first beneficiary of the Wayde Dreamer Foundation, being close to the heart of van Niekerk who, himself was born prematurely at 29 weeks.
“Wayde first showed his dedication to this cause by making a generous personal donation of half a million Rand to The Newborns Groote Schuur Trust,” says Nhlapo. “T-Systems was very interested in where we too, could leverage ICT to address some of the most critical points of the Neonatal unit.”
The Neonatal Unit’s has been using a manual system for management of communication. Particularly the tracking of patients, updating contact details, and scheduling appointments was a key concern. Keeping track of appointments and ensuring parents were notified and reminded of times and cancellations proved to be difficult, often resulting in missed appointments.
While functional on a basic level, the system was allowing for inefficiencies and errors which, in an environment where the preservation of life and eye-sight is key, needed to be addressed with critical urgency.
Nhlapo describes T-System’s solution: “We have implemented a patient management solution that is built on Microsoft’s Dynamics CRM Online system. This solution will assist in effectively managing contact information, patient bookings, appointments, confirmations as well as generate appointment reminders for *ROP visits and Neurodevelopmental Clinics. Additionally, the system is capable of scheduling and managing staff standby rosters in line with set business rules, reducing the pressure on doctors and nurses and ensuring proper availability of both is catered for.”
Through the use of USSD, even the parent in the most remote part of Western Cape can be reached and reminded of an appointment. This is good innovation in the healthcare space, something T-Systems intend to do going forward in South Africa with its broader healthcare solutions.
Gert Schoonbee, MD at T-Systems South Africa, comments: “Our involvement in this project is a natural fit, particularly when considering our motto of ‘in South Africa, for South Africa’. We are proud to be involved in this initiative and, together with Wayde, are committed to contributing positively towards reducing the high mortality rate caused by complications in premature babies. We are extremely proud of the role of our partner, Microsoft, who contributed by reducing licence fees for their platforms.”
