Sunrise Software, a supplier of IT service management (ITSM) software, has announced that NHS Informatics Merseyside is using Sunrise ITSM as a platform for automation, innovation and greater efficiency, helping its 18,000 users to focus on patient care.

Established in 2006, Informatics Merseyside is an NHS shared service providing Information Management and Technology (IM&T) services to NHS partner organisations and customers across the local health and social care economy. Informatics Merseyside handles 132,000 requests per year, providing 24 hour support to users from specialist NHS trusts, clinical commissioning groups, general practitioners and professional bodies.

While the majority of requests are currently made via phone and webforms, Informatics Merseyside is updating by integrating new channels such as live chat into the central Sunrise incident management process. This delivers real-time support and enables staff to capture more information on issues, solving them faster.

Sunrise provides the adaptable platform for multiple innovative projects that automate previously manual processes. These include password reset, whereby Sunrise authenticates the user directly, and the immediate and automatic provision of permission to access particular folders on NHS Trust systems, which previously took a working day to complete.

Committed to ensuring industry best practice, Informatics Merseyside was the first NHS IT service desk in England to achieve 3-star certification from the Service Desk Institute (SDI). Sunrise provides the reporting, data and processes Informatics Merseyside needs to efficiently meet its SDI certification requirements. Certification enables the organisation to review its operations against strict criteria, helping it to continually improve its services. 

David Gordon, Head of IT Service Operations, NHS Informatics Merseyside said, “as with the entire NHS, we have a focus on efficiency, and Sunrise enables us to automate many of our processes, giving staff time to handle more complex, more challenging jobs where they can really add value. Our Shift Left strategy aims to automate activities, freeing up service desk time. Sunrise has helped drive a cultural change within the organisation, allowing us to innovate and deliver the easy experience that our increasingly digital customers expect, whatever their needs,”

Geoff Rees, Director of Business Services and Sales of Sunrise added, “the role of the service desk is changing rapidly – moving from reactive incident management to proactively supporting a better, consumer-led experience for all users. The success of NHS Informatics Merseyside in extending the services it offers into areas such as online shopping, live chat and automation, based on our platform, demonstrates how the service desk can accelerate digital innovation, benefiting the entire organisation.”