Testimonial

“The North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust has been working with FirstCare for over two years.  Initially there was some resistance from managers, however, now the services which FirstCare provide are, almost without exception, viewed as extremely beneficial at all levels of management.

The quality of information in relation to sickness absence available to the Trust has improved beyond all recognition and there have been demonstrable reductions in sickness absence since the introduction of FirstCare.  Prior to FirstCare the Trust had issues relating to under reporting and overpayments.  These have now been largely eradicated and we even have good levels of reporting from Medical Staff which prior to FirstCare was a significant issue.

The quality of the management information reports is extremely high and far in excess of anything which can easily be extracted from the ESR system.  Also the flexibility and responsiveness of FirstCare to requests for specific reports and information is extremely good.  Furthermore, FirstCare have been highly proactive and responsive in the on going development of their services over the time we have worked with them and really work in partnership with us.

The information we receive is extremely useful in meeting and demonstrating compliance with national standards, for example NHSLA. Initially there were challenges in keeping FirstCare and Trust staff information reconciled. However, in fairness, a significant contributory factor was the quality of Trust data at the time.  Whilst these challenges remain they have been significantly reduced as a result of improved Trust data quality and also improvements made to procedures over the time period.

The most significant challenge we now have in reducing sickness absence further is management compliance with own procedures and the FirstCare system does allow proactive performance management from more senior levels of management in relation to this.

In summary therefore I would strongly recommend FirstCare as a partner organisation.  I would be happy to be contacted if further information is required.”