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WPC Coroners Streamlines the Norfolk Coroner's Service
Overview
The Norfolk Coroner’s Service investigate deaths reported within their area as well as provide high quality care and support to families following a bereavement.
They provide a valuable service to the community and it is vital that they have a modern and streamlined solution to record and manage their caseload.
The Challenge
The Norfolk Coroner’s Service were using an aging database that offered little support and didn’t allow for innovative new ways of working. Some of their main challenges included:
• Referrals - All referrals were received on paper, which meant all cases had to be loaded onto the system manually, taking a considerable amount of time.
• Paper working - All case files were paper based, with the Coroner having to wet sign all official documents, this wasted valuable time and slowed the processing of cases.
• Searching & Reporting - Navigating the system was not intuitive and many of the necessary reports and statistics, including the MoJ, took considerable time to create.
• Remote Working - The legacy system didn’t offer the flexibility for remote working, which often stalled cases from progressing quickly.
The Norfolk Coroner’s Service turned to WPC Software to implement a new system that would improve the management, communication and efficiency of their service.
The Solution
Jes Fry, Senior Coroner’s Officer for the Norfolk Coroner’s Service, said:
“WPC Coroners has allowed us to introduce a referral portal for all GP surgeries, hospices, hospitals, as well as an API portal for the police. Referrals are now automatically populated onto the system, without the need to rekey information. Apart from the time saved, the portal is more secure and provides referrers with the ability to monitor how the case is progressing and see relevant PM results, minimising lengthy queues trying to reach referrers by telephone and email."
The ability to go paperless and have forms authorised from anywhere has made the service’s processes much more efficient. This includes more timely releases of patients, which has been crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic. Additionally, it has allowed official forms to be e-mailed and has reduced paper post significantly. WPC is also so user friendly that we create our letters, requests for statements and other forms straight from the system.
WPC Coroners has simplified the onerous task that completing the MoJ report posed. WPC continuously perform work on the system to ensure that all the information required is captured well in advance of the submission date. I would estimate that we spend 5% of the time preparing the report than was required before. In addition, the system enables custom reports to be produced that assist with the various questions and requests from Coroners and external agencies.
As the system is web based, Coroners, officers, and admin staff are given the flexibility to work remotely. Coroners & officers can work and electronically sign files from home, court or anywhere, without carrying weighty paper files.”
Norfolk Coroner's Service
"Having been an early adopter of the WPC system, I have worked with WPC for several years. They are the most responsive company I have had the pleasure to work with. They deal with queries quickly and efficiently, they are constantly looking to improve and adapt the system, which was a huge improvement on our legacy system, it just gets better and better. I recommend WPC without reservation."
— Jes Fry, Senior Coroner's Officer