NHS North of England Commissioning Support Unit (Hosted by NHS England)

UEC-RAIDR Smart System Co-ordination Centre

Provides near real-time information from urgent and emergency health and social care services, for operational, managerial, clinical and System Co-ordination Centres. Automated notifications alert users to changes in the system and predictive modelling supports planning and identification of surge. UEC-RAIDR is compliant with NHS England Smart System Co-ordination Centre requirements.

Features

• System Co-ordination Centre support tool providing near real-time information
• System-wide view: UEC system including ED/bed capacity/ambulance/111/waiting times/OPEL status
• Primary Care and PCN reporting/Pharmacy and community DOS capacity
• Configurable users alerts: thresholds, notifications, OPEL escalation action cards
• Utilisation of Artificial Intelligence to identify unexpected/predicted surges
• Messaging module with configurable groups – resilience and action implementation
• Automated NHS 111 Directory of Services Interoperability
• Data storage/dashboards to provide trend analysis/Root Cause Analysis
• Automated NHS England OPEL calculation and reporting
• Continuously developing/expandable data capability, driven by users’ collective requirements

Benefits

• Promotes system wide working and mutual aid (where possible)
• Supports winter planning and capacity and demand understanding
• Supports ICS/ICP/LADB/hospital flow/command centre and SCC roles
• Easy to use for reporting Primary Care OPEL and reasons
• Customisable information on escalation actions taken and impact monitoring
• Unlimited user numbers ensuring whole system coverage
• Supports ambulance services in identification of pressured services
• Supports decision-making: shared demand through mutual aid across services
• Maternity OPEL Framework capability
• Mitigates requirement to contact providers for NHSE information requests

£81,000 an instance a year

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at necsu.busdev@nhs.net. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.

Framework

G-Cloud 13

Service ID

794747314243874

Contact

Business Development
0191 3751789
necsu.busdev@nhs.net

Service scope

• Software add-on or extension: Yes, but can also be used as a standalone service
• What software services is the service an extension to: The Application provides an additional level of information which can be used in conjunction with or in isolation of the RAIDR and Capacity Tracker systems
• Cloud deployment model: Public cloud
• Service constraints: The service may be constrained by the availability of information from collective UEC providers in conjunction with the established system working relationships and willing to share information across organisations. To ensure that the service will provide planned benefits, it is recommended to undertake a system readiness assessment with each customer area to ensure that information systems have the capability and leadership cultures promote appropriate data sharing.
• System requirements:
  • Iphone - IOS
  • Android
  • Web based

User support

• Email or online ticketing support: Email or online ticketing
• Support response times: One working day.
• User can manage status and priority of support tickets: No
• Phone support: Yes
• Phone support availability: 9 to 5 (UK time), Monday to Friday
• Web chat support: No
• Onsite support: Yes, at extra cost
• Support levels: Service support comprises : Customers can access technical support services and also help and advice for non-technical ad-hoc queries and ‘how to’ guidance. • information and advice by telephone (between the hours of 9:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, excluding bank and other public holidays), e-mail or by such other means as NECS deems appropriate from time to time to advise on the use of the RAIDR System; • the creation and release to the Customer from time to time, at NECS’ sole discretion, of fixes and improvements to the RAIDR System. Technical support services shall be provided in accordance with the following protocol:- "Major Fault" - NECS shall as soon as reasonably practicable but in any event within 1 working day of such agreement, supply instructions to the Customer which are intended to circumvent the fault; "Important Fault" - NECS shall, as soon as reasonably practicable, but in any event within 2 working days of such agreement, supply instructions intended to enable the Customer to circumvent the fault; "Minor Fault" - NECS shall use its reasonable endeavours to supply instructions to the Customer which are intended to circumvent the fault within 5 working days of such agreement.
• Support available to third parties: No

Onboarding and offboarding

• Getting started: System implementation typically takes 90 days from start to ‘go live’ of the initial application, which could be reduced subject to support and prioritisation by the local system. Detailed plans are drawn up with each customer to meet their specific needs over phases. We will work through the implementation process with the customer to establish the relevant data feeds and correctly set these up. Training will be provided remotely (via MS Teams) and onsite where applicable and appropriate to the contract size. Further onsite training is an additional offer. User documentation will also be provided.
• Service documentation: Yes
• Documentation formats: PDF
• End-of-contract data extraction: As not all data will be owned by the customer, not all of this will be available to be extracted. For instance, users from the hospital will not be able to extract ambulance data. Data extracts may be requested from the supplier.
• End-of-contract process: At the end of the contract, user access accounts are disabled and data removed. NECS will remove customer data that has been submitted by themselves, about themselves, within the price of the contract. This will not include any 3rd party data.

Using the service

• Web browser interface: Yes
• Supported browsers:
  • Microsoft Edge
  • Chrome
• Application to install: Yes
• Compatible operating systems:
  • Android
  • IOS
• Designed for use on mobile devices: Yes
• Differences between the mobile and desktop service: Mobile app provides push notifications.
• Service interface: Yes
• User support accessibility: None or don’t know
• Description of service interface: General user use of the service is via either a mobile application available or a web application
• Accessibility standards: None or don’t know
• Description of accessibility: Non-text content is supported through the inclusion of text based values to ensure the information is accessible.
• Accessibility testing: We have not undertaken any interface testing with users of assistive technology.
• API: Yes
• What users can and can't do using the API: The API is utilised for the collection of data for inclusion in the UEC-RAIDR. There is no API for extraction of information/services.
• API documentation: No
• API sandbox or test environment: No
• Customisation available: Yes
• Description of customisation: The UEC-RAIDR will be configured to best utilise system defined and supplied data – bespoke to the appropriate organisations, services, networks and geography of the UEC system it is being rolled out to.; Thresholds and notifications are configured in conjunction with the user. ; Agreed, bespoke user groups are defined for the messaging capability

Scaling

• Independence of resources: Services are load balanced between multiple servers which can be scaled out on demand. Demand and capacity is regularly monitored as part of internal check processes.

Analytics

• Service usage metrics: Yes
• Metrics types: Usage metrics can be requested by the supplier around number of daily, weekly and monthly users, the time they have spent on the app, the type of device used and at which organisation the user is from. We are currently working on how this is displayed, with the longer term objective to show this through real-time dashboards.
• Reporting types: Regular reports

Resellers

• Supplier type: Not a reseller

Staff security

• Staff security clearance: Staff screening not performed
• Government security clearance: None

Asset protection

• Knowledge of data storage and processing locations: Yes
• Data storage and processing locations: United Kingdom
• User control over data storage and processing locations: No
• Datacentre security standards: Managed by a third party
• Penetration testing frequency: At least once a year
• Penetration testing approach: Another external penetration testing organisation
• Protecting data at rest: Encryption of all physical media
• Data sanitisation process: No
• Equipment disposal approach: A third-party destruction service

Data importing and exporting

• Data export approach: Not applicable - the UEC-RAIDR provides an overview of data from multiple sources which would not be routinely available to any single organisation, to ensure compliance with appropriate NHS Information Governance and other applicable standards.
• Data export formats: Other
• Data import formats: Other
• Other data import formats: JSON

Data-in-transit protection

• Data protection between buyer and supplier networks: TLS (version 1.2 or above)
• Data protection within supplier network: TLS (version 1.2 or above)

Availability and resilience

• Guaranteed availability: 99%, assured by contractual commitment, excluding planned downtime for maintenance.
• Approach to resilience: Our datacentre is set up to be resilient through two data centres with fail over, which is transparent for the end users. This is thoroughly tested within the test environment to ensure minimal disruption to customers.
• Outage reporting: Any outages will be reported via email correspondence to designated customer leads.

Identity and authentication

• User authentication needed: Yes
• User authentication: Username or password
• Access restrictions in management interfaces and support channels: Identitiy server to manage identities
• Access restriction testing frequency: At least once a year
• Management access authentication:
  • 2-factor authentication
  • Username or password

Audit information for users

• Access to user activity audit information: No audit information available
• Access to supplier activity audit information: No audit information available
• How long system logs are stored for: Less than 1 month

Standards and certifications

• ISO/IEC 27001 certification: Yes
• Who accredited the ISO/IEC 27001: BSI
• ISO/IEC 27001 accreditation date: 26/04/22
• What the ISO/IEC 27001 doesn’t cover: 14.1.3 Protecting Application services transactions; 14.2.1 Secure development policy; 14.2.5 Secure development environment; 14.2.6 Outsourced development
• ISO 28000:2007 certification: No
• CSA STAR certification: No
• PCI certification: No
• Cyber essentials: Yes
• Cyber essentials plus: Yes
• Other security certifications: No

Security governance

• Named board-level person responsible for service security: Yes
• Security governance certified: No
• Security governance approach: Security governance approach includes: • Data Protection and Security Toolkit Compliance • Information Security Management Plans which are developed practice based experience. • Cyber Essentials Plus – NECS will continue to seek further accreditation to gain compliance against the Cyber Essentials Plus scheme. • ISEM (Information Assurance for Small & Medium sized Enterprises) - The IASME standard, based on ISO27001, has developed to create a cyber security standard recognised by the UK Government. • ISO27001 – NECS is aligned with the ISO27001 internationally recognised, gold standard, and Information Security standards.
• Information security policies and processes: There is an Information & Cyber Security Strategy and Plan, managed through an IT Security Team with access to the wider IT teams. This is managed by our Infrastructure Security Manager. She reports into the Head of Infrastructure who reports to the Business Information Services Director. NECS’ develop Information Security Management Plans which are developed using the valuable practice based experience. The key strategic information security principles that underpin information security management at NECS are considered in any service provided by NECS. NECS adhere to NHS England Policies and all NECS procedures are based on ITIL good practice.

Operational security

• Configuration and change management standard: Supplier-defined controls
• Configuration and change management approach: There is an ITIL based Change Advisory Board (CAB) that manages the processes in accordance with the NECS Procedures.
• Vulnerability management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Vulnerability management approach: As the app services are hosted on Azure, the vulnerability management approach is provided by Microsoft. Microsoft Azure is responsible for ensuring the service is highly available, definitions are updated regularly, that configuration through the Azure Management Portal is effective and that the software detects and protects against known types of virus and malicious software. MCIO-managed hosts in the scope boundary are scanned to validate anti-virus clients are installed and current signature-definition files exist. Vulnerability scans are performed on a quarterly basis at a minimum.
• Protective monitoring type: Supplier-defined controls
• Protective monitoring approach: The infrastructure is monitored by the supplier with active port monitoring alerts in place. Incidents are dealt with in line with the NECS ITIL Incident, Request Fulfilment and Problem Management Procedure. Standard response times are below: ; Priority Level 1 (Major Incident) KPI - 95% resolution within 4 hours. ; Priority Level 2 KPI - 90% resolution within 8 hours. ; Priority Level 3 KPI - 80% within 3 working days. ; Priority Level 4 KPI - 95% resolution within 5 working days.; Priority Level 5 KPI - 95% resolution within 30 working days
• Incident management type: Supplier-defined controls
• Incident management approach: The management of Incidents follows the standards set out by ITIL and defined in our own Incident and Problem Management Policy. Users report incidents via the Service Desk either via Telephone. Each incident is given a unique reference number and a priority which defines the length of time allowed to resolve the incident. Incidents are analysed to look for common trends by reviewing the types of incidents logged and trying to identify root causes. We report each month to our customers on the number of Incidents logged and our performance in terms of meeting the fix time.

Secure development

• Approach to secure software development best practice: Supplier-defined process

Public sector networks

• Connection to public sector networks: No

Social Value

• Fighting climate change:

  Fighting climate change

  NECS is committed to fighting climate change and has set up a Corporate Social Responsibility Group, chaired by our Organisational Development and Corporate Services Director to develop and track progress. This group and each initiative are supported by several recycling champions located across NECS estates; whose core objective is to raise awareness of the benefits of combating climate change amongst employees and encouraging participation in any initiatives.; ; We have rolled out innovative technologies that enable remote working such as Microsoft Teams, which combined with our new ways of working framework has led to a reduction in our energy consumption. We have also committed to removing all single use plastics across all our estates and no longer procure any product of this nature. To further reduce our impact, we have also committed to removing all bottled water facilities where an alternative fresh drinking water source is available.; ; The carbon emission reduction achieved by these schemes in 2019-20 equated to 865 tCO2e, a 38% reduction against the 2017-18 baseline. 2020-21 is likely to be an anomaly year due to the COVID-19 pandemic and national restrictions. To continue our progress to achieve Net Zero, we are adopting carbon reduction targets. We project that carbon emissions will decrease to 1073 tCO2e by 2025. This is a reduction of 54%.; ; All of these implemented measures will be in effect when performing any call-off contract.
• Covid-19 recovery:

  Covid-19 recovery

  As an organisation that is firmly embedded in the NHS, NECS directly supported NHS England and multiple Clinical Commissioning Groups and Foundation Trusts to manage and recover from the impacts of COVID-19. Often working at pace to challenging deadlines, NECS pro-actively managed available resources and internal capacity to ensure that our customers had access to the support they required to reduce the demand on health and social care services. Due to the restrictions that were in place during the pandemic, our employees swiftly embraced new and innovative ways of working to meet demands. ; ; NECS has worked in partnership with our trade union colleagues to produce a new ways of working framework to effectively manage our workforce whilst taking into consideration the implications of COVID-19. The framework sets out NECS’ core principles underpinning our ways of working which are significantly less office centric and aim to provide a better work-life balance for our employees and accelerate our carbon foot reduction. ; ; Lastly, to support sustainable travel, NECS has implemented a 'Cycle to Work' scheme. This allows NECS staff to loan bicycles and cycling safety equipment, as a tax-free benefit, as part of the Government’s initiative to promote healthier journeys to work and reduce environmental pollution.; All of these initiatives and policies will be in effect during delivery of any call-off agreement, and we would be happy to share best practice with suppliers and customers where possible.
• Tackling economic inequality:

  Tackling economic inequality

  NECS has a clear social purpose to create jobs and generate wealth for our communities. In response to COVID-19 we developed our NECS100 programme, providing employment and training opportunities to the communities we serve and particularly for those who reside in deprived areas. The programme has seen the recruitment of one-hundred apprentices and graduates into our organisation. Each of the new recruits engaged in a tailored development programme designed to help them integrate into the organisation, develop lifelong skills, and obtain recognised qualifications. ; ; Our aim is to continue to provide employment and training opportunities to the communities we serve. The third cohort of the programme is just about to commence, which will see an additional sixty-four apprentices and graduates join our organisation. ; ; To create opportunities for entrepreneurship and help new, small organisations grow, we are working closely with NHS England to support their Clinical Entrepreneur Programme. The programme aims to provide the commercial skills, knowledge and experience needed to successfully develop and disseminate innovative solutions to the challenges facing the NHS for the benefit of patients, staff and the wider NHS. More than 500 individuals including doctors, dentists, healthcare scientists, nurses and midwives, allied health professionals and pharmacists, have joined the programme since it launched in 2016. Through the programme, NECS will offer expert mentoring and bespoke training to help entrepreneurs develop innovative ideas into products and businesses.; ; Where possible, NECS will look to develop the skills of its employees and those within the NECS100 programme through the delivery of any call-off agreement.
• Equal opportunity:

  Equal opportunity

  NECS is committed to addressing inequalities in our organisation and to that end we have been reporting against the Workforce Race Equality Standard (WRES) since 2016, striving to make improvements year on year. We are now able to report effectively on every WRES indicator, giving us a much clearer view of the challenges we face in relation to the WRES and in creating a fairer, more inclusive workplace.; ; NECS is a disability confident employer and has taken measures to ensure that any opportunity for discrimination during the recruitment process is minimised. Personal information is removed from application forms prior to short listing and is used for monitoring purposes only. NECS ensure that objective selection criteria are used, the decision-making process is recorded, and it can be demonstrated that appointments are made on merit. We also utilise NHS Agenda for Change payrates, ensuring equal pay across the organisation.; ; To tackle inequality in training and development we refreshed our Talent Management Programme in 2020. The development included providing NECS employees with the opportunity to undertake stretch assignments to enhance core competencies and wider learning opportunities. Further to this and in addition to progressing our current mentoring offer by training and recruiting more mentors to the programme, a ‘reverse mentoring’ programme has been developed, providing opportunities to colleagues from under-represented groups to have a reciprocal mentoring relationship with senior level colleagues to share learning and enhance employment opportunities.; ; All of these initiatives and policies will be in effect during delivery of any call-off agreement, and we would be happy to share best practice with suppliers and customers where possible.
• Wellbeing:

  Wellbeing

  NECS recognises that good mental health and wellbeing are associated with improved outcomes for employees including longevity, physical health, and productivity and we are committed to implementing measures which encourage and promote a healthy workforce. ; ; NECS has a dedicated Health and Wellbeing Group that ensures that NECS has an integrated approach to the management of health and wellbeing, therefore, maintaining and improving the health and wellbeing of staff within the organisation. The aim of the group is to provide a framework for NECS to take a proactive and engaging approach to enhancing the health and wellbeing of our employees.; ; The group is supported by several health and wellbeing champions, who play a key role in supporting and developing a culture that contributes not only to improve the physical and mental health and wellbeing of their colleagues but also themselves. ; ; As part of our strategy to safeguard and support staff with mental health concerns, NECS has a number of employees trained as mental Health First Aiders (MHFA's), who provide responsive assistance to employees and managers in need of help and direction. Whilst MHFA's are not clinically trained in counselling, diagnosing, or treating mental health, they are able to spot the early signs of a mental health problem and signpost and direct to the appropriate and relevant intervention and support agencies.; ; All of these initiatives and policies will be in effect during delivery of any call-off agreement, and we would be happy to share best practice with suppliers and customers where possible.

Pricing

• Price: £81,000 an instance a year
• Discount for educational organisations: No
• Free trial available: No

Service documents

• Pricing document

  PDF

• Service definition document

  PDF

• Terms and conditions

  PDF

Request an accessible format

If you use assistive technology (such as a screen reader) and need versions of these documents in a more accessible format, email the supplier at necsu.busdev@nhs.net. Tell them what format you need. It will help if you say what assistive technology you use.