Praise after much anticipated upgrades to Patient Administration System are completed at Maelor

A much anticipated upgrade to the Patient Administration System for Wales (WelshPAS or WPAS) in Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board East has been completed.

The sites included in the upgrade include Wrexham Maelor Hospital and community sites.

WPAS holds patient identification details, and records details of patients’ hospital visits, including waiting list management, medical records, inpatient treatment, outpatient appointments and emergency visits. The upgrade ‘enhances the systems functionality and improves workability’. Having a single WPAS means the same administrative patient information can be accessed in different hospital departments, so patients won’t have to repeat their details several times throughout their medical journey.

The upgrade not only brought in system changes but the underlying local IT infrastructure to support WPAS was also changed. Both NHS Wales Informatics Service (NWIS) and Betsi Cadwaladr University IT teams were on site supporting users during the “go live” period, as well as remotely from the WPAS team base in Swansea, ensuring that any issues were rapidly resolved.

Early feedback has been very positive with users saying they believed the upgrade is a strong improvement over previous versions. Users also complimented the transition and technical support offered by NWIS teams before, during and after the “go live.”

“I have searched for 20-plus patients and found the system works really well,” said BCU Resus Services Technician Matthew Brown. “It’s been much quicker during operation and a lot less frustrating when searching for particular information.”