Sector
Healthcare
Users
100+
Solutions
Web Development
Chess' development team recently developed an application which helps the NHS gather information about COVID-19 in children. The Digital Healthcare Research App was commissioned by Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust and is now used across the UK.
The Challenge
On the 15th of March 2020, when the critical nature of COVID-19 was crystallising, Chess were approached by a Consultant respiratory paediatrician at Alder Hey Children's Hospital who, in anticipation of the impending pressure on the NHS, enquired as to whether or not we knew of a system that would support the capturing and maintenance of patient information.
The Result
A repurposed Babelfish was the obvious candidate. The next few weeks were spent making the necessary modifications, which included the development of new questions sets, removing any housing-related elements and working closely with cybersecurity colleagues from Chess on shifting from prototype to production.
Within a week the application was redeployed, tested and made available to the NHS. At the time of writing, Babelfish has been used by NHS staff to monitor the status of children across 227 NHS Foundation Trusts from Liverpool to London, has 140 users and generated 210 responses.
The extent to which the whole of Chess mobilised around the opportunity to meet a critical need was impressive, as was the speed with which a solution was realised and made available.
"We're so grateful for the time and effort that Chess put into the app and on such a short notice. The data base is still being used really frequently and is very easy to use."
- Rachel Harwood, Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust