Bliksund has achieved a significant milestone by securing its first contract in the UK with Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service (LIVES) for their ePCR solution, Bliksund EWA. LIVES, a registered charity staffed by volunteers, offers pre-hospital care services throughout Lincolnshire and will use Bliksund to support its prehospital services moving forward.
With its origins dating back to the 1970s, LIVES has consistently prioritised life-saving efforts by leveraging the contributions of volunteers to deliver effective pre-hospital care services. Looking ahead, LIVES will integrate Bliksund's electronic ambulance record (ePCR), EWA, into its fleet of ambulances, serving as an integrated electronic patient care reporting solution within their operations. In collaboration with the East Midlands Ambulance Service, LIVES provides clinical expertise, critical care skills, and rapid medical responses through its network of community first responders. LIVES responders respond to over 1,000 incidents each month, amounting to more than 12,000 incidents annually.
Until now, LIVES has relied on a paper-based reporting system and worked alongside other organisations that used various systems to record their data. Going forward, they anticipate that EWA will enhance information flow and facilitate the streamlining of patient record completion.
"We are always looking at new ways to improve the care given to patients and the service we deliver as a charity and this digital approach does just that. The direct benefits include safety mechanisms to identify deteriorating patients and remind crews of treatment pathways. A video link is included so that remote advice can be given by more senior clinicians and timesaving features allow clinicians to spend more time interacting with the patient and less time documenting", says Daniel Sedgewick, Medical Director at LIVES
It was also crucial for LIVES that EWA integrates seamlessly with their ZOLL monitors as this enhances interoperability and streamlines workflow for emergency responders. This integration ensures that critical patient data captured by ZOLL devices can be seamlessly transferred to EWA, enabling more efficient and informed decision-making during emergencies.
"The level of integration was a big factor in us selecting Bliksund during the tender process. All data that we capture will now be transferred to the ePCR automatically,"
says Daniel Sedgewick, Medical Director at LIVES
Agile with focus on customer needs
Bliksund prioritises agile working practices and maintains close collaboration with its customers to ensure the delivery of user-friendly and pertinent solutions. By adopting an agile approach, the solutions are consistently tailored to address the unique requirements and preferences of the customers. Presently, Bliksund is in the process of developing a first responder app that will seamlessly integrate with EWA, supporting LIVES’ first responders in their fieldwork.
From an organisational perspective the system brings huge benefits in terms of planning, quality review and remote advice all which lead to a safer service for patients," says Daniel Sedgewick, Medical Director at LIVES
The development of this first responder app aligns closely with the demands from the UK market, and particularly for organizations with a significant number of volunteer first responders.
"The challenges in Norway and the UK are very similar. When we bring a mature solution to the UK and adapt it to local standards, we strongly believe that our solutions can effectively support LIVES in their pre-hospital efforts. We admire their mission and professionalism, and we are proud that they have chosen Bliksund EWA to enhance their services.", says Janne T. Morstøl, CEO of Bliksund.
Read more about LIVES and their work here
