NHS Scotland plans to vaccinate 5.5 million people in 90 days with the assistance of a vaccine management solution built on the ServiceNow Platform. The solution has helped to digitise the administration of the vaccination, thus reducing the time spent on paperwork. It has enabled clinical staff to spend more time on vaccinations than on documenting it. Both of which are important. The system went live on January 20th. In its first twelve hours of operation it assisted with scheduling 220,000 vaccinations.
Speeding up the process
That number is notable as by 12th January Scotland NHS had vaccinated 191,965 people with the first dose and only 2,990 the second dose. With the system in place, NHS Scotland is now rapidly ramping up the program. There are still concerns. First, that the vaccines are delivered on time and secondly that there are enough staff to meet the demand. The ServiceNow solution should enable NHS Scotland to rapidly roll out the vaccine in an unprecedented program. Using the system, NHS Scotland is already contacting high-risk individuals. The remaining citizens can book their appointments on a portal at vaccination hubs across the country.
Deryck Mitchelson, Director of Digital and Chief Information Security Officer at NHS Scotland, stated: “Developed in partnership with ServiceNow, NHS Scotland’s vaccine management system represents a seismic shift in our response to COVID-19 as it assists with allowing the entire vulnerable population of Scotland to be protected quickly and efficiently – leading to an anticipated easing of lockdown. The vaccine management tools provided by ServiceNow have been vital to expediting Scotland’s vaccine efforts as we enter what we hope will be the final stages of the fight against COVID-19.”
The solution was deployed over six weeks to assist with the vaccination of Scotland’s entire population in three months. It was based on the work ServiceNow has already done to develop a vaccination management solution. That system is already in use in the State of North Carolina. Vaccine Administration Management is available for other organisations on the ServiceNow Store.
ServiceNow delivers more than COVID-19 vaccination help
NHS Scotland has leveraged the Now platform throughout the pandemic. It has used various applications to assist it with the different challenges faced. Use cases included:
- An effective national contact tracing systems
- Manage PPE inventory throughout the country
- Keep track of Scotland’s testing data.
The vaccination management system is the fourth major application that the organisation has used the Now platform for. Mitchelson added: “ServiceNow has been a strategic partner in helping NHS Scotland respond to each phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, from monitoring our PPE levels to managing contact tracing challenges. Now, as we move into what we hope is the final phase of this pandemic, we have chosen ServiceNow’s solutions to help us roll out our vaccination programme.”
Enterprise Times: What does this mean
The help that the ServiceNow platform has delivered NHS Scotland demonstrates the flexibility of the platform. It has met a wide variety of business challenges. Whether global, national or within a business, this flexibility in a given solution is critical in times of emergency. ServiceNow has demonstrated that it can create completely new solutions in a very short time
Paul Smith, EMEA President at ServiceNow, commented: “With more than 15 billion COVID-19 vaccines required worldwide, managing the vaccine process is one of the most significant workflow challenges of our lifetime. Because of the agility of the Now Platform, we were able to help NHS Scotland develop and deploy its vaccine management solution in just six weeks. We are proud to support NHS Scotland with its most pressing and vital task of getting Scottish citizens vaccinated and healthy.”
