Covalent for the NHS

Changes to the regulatory regime itself further reinforce the need for more effective Performance Management arrangements. The formation of the Healthcare Commission (HC) has led to the replacement of the star ratings system with an approach very similar to the councils CPA methodology used by the Audit Commission. A move towards 'risk-based' inspection means that inspections will now only take place when HC believes there are grounds for concern.

Covalent is a powerful Inspection Management tool that provides the necessary evidence in support of the two key HC questions - is the organisation getting the basics right and is it making and sustaining progress? The software also manages the ongoing performance management arrangements in a holistic, visually engaging manner.

Most hospitals are seeking Foundation Trust Status, with the promise of greater freedoms and new accountability arrangements. A fundamental prerequisite is the ability to demonstrate that the hospital is well managed with procedures for managing risk and assessing performance.

Covalent provides a very simple project management tool that helps Hospital Trusts manage the hundreds of different projects and strategic/operational initiatives ongoing across the organisation. Covalent consolidates all actions in play, and delivers powerful progress tracking and milestone management facilities. Actions are colour-coded based on status, to quickly highlight those completed and those currently overdue. Covalent also has a powerful Risk Management module, allowing you to easily score risks and track progress with mitigation action plans or usage of internal controls.

SCORECARDS align performance indicators with the Trust's strategy to monitor progress towards achievement of corporate aims, priorities and operational objectives. Scorecards present the strategy in a hierarchical tree and map Performance Indicators, Actions and possibly Risks at each level. Scorecards highlight interdependencies between activities with drill-down to the underlying data for further investigation.

Current progress can be immediately understood through the use of traffic-lighting that highlights performance above, in line or below expectations.