Case Study

How the Isle of Wight NHS Trust Utilised AMS to Help Create a New Single Corporate Service

Utilising their existing AMS SAR Portal, the IOW NHS Trust were able to consult with AMS to utilise the functionality of the AMS Request Management portal, assisting with the decision to onboard Portsmouth onto the already established portal.

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Details

Enhanced request processing

Increased AMS SAR Portal to manage up to 1000 requests per month

Advanced data capture

Manipulation of the existing AMS SAR Portal to capture site-specific data

Improved patient experiences

Efficient and patient-friendly service offered across the two sites

Faster

turnaround times

Fewer

breached deadlines

Secure

online disclosure

Overview

The IOW NHS Trust have been a long-standing customer of Automated Messaging Systems Ltd (AMS) since early 2021. After utilising the AMS Request Management Portal (AMS SAR Portal) for the IOW Subject Access Request successfully for a number of years, the decision onboard Portsmouth onto the already established AMS portal which was a success for IOW.

How did AMS Help?

With manipulation of the existing portal and consultancy offered by AMS, the two NHS sites were able to capture, manage and securely respond to Subject Access Requests from patients and other authorised third parties, such as Solicitors, and the Police. The AMS Request Management Portal is also allowing the two sites to query their own individual PACS servers, allowing the teams to disclose radiology images as part of the Access to records process in addition to utilising the built in KPI reporting functions.

Seamless, Stress-free Onboarding

AMS were able to make many of the desired changes out of hours, ensuring a smooth transition for Go-Live and minimal disruption to external requestors and internal staff users.

“AMS’ hands on approach during the AMS SAR Portal changes ensured that the onboarding of the Portsmouth users and processes onto the IOW existing portal was seamless and stress free. AMS ensured that both teams were comfortable with the portal and each Trust was catered for with regards to their individual requirements.”

Sarah Lloyd – Information Governance Manager, manages the two teams under one service.

The Challenges

Following the merger of the SAR/Access to Health Records services across Isle of Wight NHS Trust and Portsmouth University Hospitals, the combined team faced several operational hurdles: 

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Fragmented Processes

 

  • Two separate SAR / AHR workflows operating independently

  • Inconsistent procedures and documentation between sites

  • No unified approach to managing requests

 

The Solution

 To unify the newly created single corporate service, the Trusts utilised AMS SAR Platform, delivering a single, standardised digital process across both sites. 

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One Unified Workflow

  • Replaced fragmented processes with a single, consistent end-to-end model
  • Standardised request handling across both Trusts
  • Ensured every request followed the same compliant pathway

Before vs After Implementation

Processes Fragmented workflows across IOW & Portsmouth; inconsistent procedures One unified, standardised end-to-end process across both Trusts
Transparency Limited visibility of cases between sites Shared dashboards with full cross site visibility
Workload Sharing Hard to distribute work due to differing processes Shared work queues enabling balanced workload across both sites
PACS/Imaging Requests Two separate PACS servers complicating imaging workflows Integrated support for dual PACS, with consistent imaging request handling
Training & Adoption Portsmouth users unfamiliar with AMS SAR Portal Structured onboarding, confident adoption across both teams
Reporting Separate reporting, no unified view of performance Consolidated reporting for the merged service
Requester Experience Different processes depending on Trust One digital portal for all requesters, regardless of site

 

Results

  • Both teams now operate under one standardised digital process

  • Full visibility of all cases across both sites

  • Clear oversight of performance, bottlenecks, and turnaround times

 

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Conclusion

The creation of one newly formed single corporate service was a success providing transparency and control of the Subject Access Request process, whilst providing an intuitive solution for patients and requestors to access their files securely after disclosure.

The two sites are now looking to get more out of portal and are working with AMS and another supplier to introduce Robot Automation into the AMS SAR Portal.

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