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The Silver Line uses Adastra from Advanced to provide 24/7 support to helpline callers

The Silver Line uses Adastra from Advanced to provide 24/7 support to helpline callers Advanced’s call management system manages 16,500 calls per month 30 April 2014 –Call management system, Adastra from Advanced Health & Care (Advanced), is on track to manage more than 200,000 telephone calls to The Silver Line in the service’s first year. Founded by Esther Rantzen and launched in November 2013, The Silver Line is the UK’s only free confidential helpline providing information, friendship and advice to older people. The Adastra Solution manages an average of 16,500 calls to the service each month. As well as giving the older generation the information and support they need, the charity, which was funded by Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund, protects and supports those suffering abuse and neglect. The inbound element of the helpline is partly managed by Fylde Coast Medical Service (FCMS), a unscheduled care provider with substantial experience of using Adastra, meaning that they were able to receive, manage and categorise calls quickly and efficiently as soon as the helpline was launched. All calls received into The Silver Line are logged and categorised on Adastra by call centre staff. Vicky Noon, Head of Call Centre Services, FCMS comments: ‘We chose Adastra because, unlike some systems, it doesn’t dictate what information we do and don’t record. This is perfect for calls to The Silver Line which, as a confidential service, means we only record a limited amount of information. At peak times, we receive around 700 calls day, 60% of which are received in the evenings, nights and at weekends. Adastra has been configured with a number of set questions that allow us to categorise calls. This information is key to analysing trends.“ Calls are managed by a team of 115 staff who work in shifts to provide coverage 24 hours a day. A team of eight are responsible for managing calls received throughout the night. When necessary, staff can use Adastra to refer callers with specific needs to other third party support organisations. Noon comments: “If someone calls requesting information about a community service in their area, our team are instantly able to access a directory of localised information. It’s a highly efficient system and Advanced has been excellent in ensuring it is configured to our exact needs.” Adastra has traditionally been used in healthcare settings, however Advanced is seeing increased use by organisations like FCMS who manage rapid-response helplines and require solutions that are highly configurable and can grow with their organisations. Due to its flexibility and ease of use, Adastra has been widely adopted by the health sector and today is used in settings such as walk-in centres, minor injuries units, NHS 111 services, referral management centres, police custody suites, mobile GPs and palliative care co-ordination services. -ends- Notes to Editor

About Advanced Health & Care www.advancedcomputersoftware.com/ahc Advanced Health & Care (Advanced) is a leading provider of IT management systems for adult and children’s community, mental health, hospice, home and residential care services, as well as urgent and unscheduled care and clinical call centres. Advanced focuses on providing innovative mobile IT applications for community based care, supporting tens of thousands of care workers and clinicians with integrated phone, software and airtime solutions. Working with partners in the NHS, local government and the private sector, Advanced offers IT solutions in support of safe, efficient care delivery with integrated management information. Advanced’s unique proposition is its range of integrated care solutions offering visibility of information for both the commissioner and care provider. About Adastra

Adastra is a leading clinical patient management system designed specifically to manage episodes of care quickly and safely in demanding unscheduled telephone advice and face-to-face care settings, such as urgent care centres and walk-in centres.

The entire patient journey can be measured and analysed from initial telephone call, through to arrival, consultation, prescribing, internal and external referral to another department or service and closure. Adastra also maintains clinical continuity by automatically sending full consultation details to the patient’s GP allowing patients to have a seamless experience.

Contact us

Unit 4 Eurogate Business Park I Ashford I Kent I TN24 8SB t: +44 (0)1233 722 700 f: +44 (0)1233 722 701 e: ahcmarketing@advancedcomputersoftware.com www.advancedcomputersoftware.com/ahc

Press Contacts:

Angela Mycock and Nick Hardy, Advanced Computer Software Group

pr@advancedcomputersoftware.com

+44(0)1625 856 513

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