Turning to Zipporah for Covid-19 Test Booking System
As demand for national Covid testing outstrips capacity, Zipporah has developed - and delivered - a new, localised test booking system - which will work on a county level.
Already up and running, just two-days after commissioning Zipporah for the project - Staffordshire and their partners, Stoke on Trent City Council, have taken the initiative to deliver their own, localised testing service to work alongside the national system. The partnership needed to ensure a more robust, stable and effective system - that would not suffer the difficulties that have blighted the national offering - and needed to deliver the project within a tight deadline, in order to steady an increasingly pressing issue. Crucially, the system needed to be delivered online, on time and in budget.
Presently, the Zipporah-built system allows eligible applicants (essential workers/those exhibiting symptoms etc.), to book slots for testing across three different test sites in the county, five-days a week. The system will allow the comprehensive management of test slots based on the tests available; thus ensuring a perfect correlation between number of bookings and resources for tests. The system will also allow clinicians to record tests issued (including test serial numbers), providing fully searchable results and allowing easy recording of test outcomes. From there, outcomes can be quickly reported on, and, in the event of a Covid-positive result; track and trace contact procedures can be implemented.
Scott Burton, Technical Director: Zipporah
"It’s impossible to ignore the on-going issues surrounding the national test booking system. There seems to be a news item discussing a different issue every day of the week at the moment.
As the national booking system was overwhelmed, these inspiring, forward-thinking councils partnered-up to ensure the health and safety of their citizens. It’s something I think all UK citizens would like to see from their local authority; given the recent resurgence of the virus. This, localised system has empowered the Council partnership to take control of the testing solution themselves - ensuring capacity meets demand, and that the council can safeguard citizens and employees alike. We were humbled at Zipporah that this partnership approached us - based on previous examples of our work, and feeling safe in the knowledge that Zipporah, as ever, would swiftly deliver a scalable, intuitive and comprehensive solution - especially on such an important system in these unusual times."
On going live, the system saw extensive traffic; and the booking figures quickly started to stack up, allowing citizens to breathe a sigh of relief, as they saw a local testing centre with availability. As restrictions continue to ease, now more than ever it is vital that people with symptoms not only self-isolate but successfully book a Covid test. It is unrealistic and ill-advised for people to travel great distances in order to get tests, additionally, there have been too many instances where on arrival at site, people have been turned away. A local system will allow comprehensive management of tailored systems, ensuring that capacity is available, that demand is manageable and, perhaps crucially, that the system is flexible enough so that it can be adjusted quickly to suit the bespoke, changing circumstances in the area.
Scott Burton concludes:
"The Zipporah mission throughout the pandemic has been to ensure that our clients, old and new, are armed with the best possible tools to face the pandemic. Whether for civic amenity centres, Nightingale Hospitals or appointments dealing with Covid testing, Zipporah has been at the forefront of the fight, ensuring that we are delivering ground-breaking, truly transformational technology - and at pace.
I could not be prouder of the team and the work they have produced - which has received significant recognition across a number of new sectors since the beginning of the year. I'm pleased to see another example of our solutions delivering on the needs of the country - possibly in ways that no one may have envisaged this time last year. The motto for Zipporah is 'we do more than you think' and in this case, we have managed to do more than even we thought" .
