Discover how RLDatix and MPFT are transforming workforce management with eCommunity to enhance safer staffing and patient care.
Karen Swinson, Clinical Lead RLDatix
As the healthcare landscape evolves, community nursing is under the spotlight like never before. The growing demand for community care, increasingly complex patient needs, and challenges around staffing are pushing organisations to find innovative solutions. RLDatix, in collaboration with Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (MPFT), is at the forefront of addressing these challenges through the implementation of our powerful eCommunity platform.
The Current State of Community Nursing
Community nursing teams are the backbone of our healthcare system, delivering critical care to patients in their homes. However, as Paula, an Operational Leader at MPFT, highlighted during a recent webinar:
“We are doing so much more with less. Patient complexity has increased dramatically, and we’re caring for these individuals with fewer staff and less experience than even five or ten years ago.”
This pressure is exacerbated by persistent workforce shortages, rapid hospital discharges, and deferred care becoming a daily reality. In such an environment, staff well-being and safe staffing have never been more critical.
The RLDatix Perspective
Karen, Clinical Lead at RLDatix, shared her insights:
“Community nursing has never been more in focus than it is right now. Safer staffing isn’t just about reactive measures when staff call in sick—it’s about planning and building strong foundations to reduce daily firefighting and support sustainable, safe patient care.”
RLDatix’s eCommunity platform is designed to address these challenges head-on. By leveraging advanced scheduling and workforce management tools, the solution empowers teams to balance staff availability, skills, and patient needs while enhancing operational efficiency.
MPFT’s Journey with eCommunity
The Midlands Partnership NHS Foundation Trust is one of the largest healthcare providers in the region, supporting a patient population of 1.5 million across Staffordshire, Stoke-on-Trent, and Shropshire. Paula described how MPFT’s integration of eCommunity has revolutionised their approach to workforce management and patient care:
“We’ve seen an increase in referral rates to our Community Nursing Teams, from 2021 – 2024, at an unprecedented rate. Without the intelligent scheduling and insights provided by eCommunity, managing this surge would have been nearly impossible.”
MPFT leverages a suite of interconnected tools, including Optima for rota planning and skills management, Rio for electronic patient records, and eCommunity for real-time scheduling and caseload management.
How eCommunity Makes a Difference
Personalised and Responsive Care
eCommunity matches individual patient care needs, direct from an EPR system to clinicians, ensuring the safest and most effective care. Allowing staff to have access to real-time patient data, enabling them to reprioritise visits when urgent cases arise.
Transparency and Fair Workloads
The platform provides clear visibility of staff schedules, helping to create achievable workloads. Clinicians can clock in and out, giving managers oversight of their location and workload distribution.
“Staff well-being is supported by transparent scheduling and the ability to plan their day with confidence,” Karen explained.
Deferred Care Management
Deferred care is now a reality for many teams, but eCommunity helps MPFT track and prioritise it effectively. Paula emphasised:
“Deferred care is part of the workload now, but having a system that gives us oversight ensures we’re not losing sight of those patients and can reassign them immediately.”
Forward Planning
By analysing caseload data, MPFT can identify trends and plan for future workforce establishment requirements , supported by tailored workforce capacity modelling and deployment strategies.
“It’s not just about today’s challenges; it’s about preparing for tomorrow’s demands,” Paula noted.
Creating a Culture of Safety and Support
At the heart of MPFT’s strategy is a commitment to compassionate and collective leadership. Paula stressed the importance of psychological safety for staff:
“Our teams feel vulnerable in these complex and uncertain times. As leaders, it’s our responsibility to create an environment where they feel supported and valued.”
This philosophy is reflected in MPFT’s emphasis on staff well-being programs, robust induction processes, and continuous professional development.
The Road Ahead
With eCommunity as a cornerstone of their operations, MPFT is better equipped to navigate the challenges of modern community nursing. The collaboration with RLDatix demonstrates how technology and compassionate leadership can combine to deliver safer staffing, improve patient outcomes, and boost staff well-being.
Karen said:
“Our goal isn’t just to manage care – it’s to optimise it for the benefit of both patients and staff. Together with MPFT, we’re building a sustainable model for community nursing that others can emulate.”
Join the Conversation
The challenges facing community nursing are significant, but so are the opportunities to innovate and improve. RLDatix is proud to partner with organisations like MPFT to make a tangible difference. If you’re interested in learning more about how eCommunity can transform your workforce management and patient care, we’d love to hear from you.
Contact us today to explore how we can support your journey toward safer staffing and optimised care delivery.
