Every 999 call that comes into the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is compared to the information that SECAmb holds on the IBIS system to see if we have a care plan for that patient. An IBIS Data Assistant (IDA) informs responding clinicians of an IBIS match whilst they are en route to the incident.
IBIS is responsive and has the functionality which will allow patient case managers (PCMs) to be notified by SMS, email or phone at the point when their patient calls 999 and/or if their patient is conveyed to hospital. Case managers can also nominate secondary notification recipients, such as OneCall (Single Point of Access), South East Health (Out of Hours GP), respiratory services in hospitals and other community teams. This notification functionality means that, as they are based in the community, the PCM will often respond to the message and meet the ambulance crew on scene to assist with managing the patient. The conveyance notifications can allow the community team to liaise with the hospital and assist in treating the patient together.
Once the attending ambulance clinician has made an initial assessment of the patient they call into the EOC to access the care plan on IBIS and discuss their treatment plan with a Paramedic Practitioner (Specialist Paramedic in Urgent & Emergency Care).
A clinical update is added to the patient’s IBIS care record – including what was found during examination, likely diagnosis, base line observations, treatment provided and outcome. When the ambulance clinicians have finished caring for the patient, be that at home or following conveyance to hospital, the IBIS record is closed and an electronic ‘End-of-Episode Summary’ is automatically sent back to the patient’s case manager. This End-of-Episode Summary forms part of the clinician’s safety netting for the patient and allows follow-up/review by their Community Care Team.
IBIS stores details from previous 999 calls including number of episodes, number of conveyances, and clinical notes from previous crews. This information can be obtained by any future attending ambulance clinicians to allow a continuation/consistency of care.
If you would like further information about IBIS or you are a care team wishing to be set up on IBIS, please use the form on our contact us page.