CAREFUL Usability at Maidstone & Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust
7.4/10 ease-of-use. 98% report high or moderate safety impact.
Setting: Cross-site Critical Care department, MTW NHS Foundation Trust
Period: Three years (live since January 2023, pilot from late 2022)
Source: Clinician usability feedback survey
The deployment
CAREFUL has been in continuous use at MTW's cross-site Critical Care department since January 2023. The platform handles referrals into ICU from wards, day-to-day patient clinical summaries, and flow information. It also provides the coordination platform for the ICU research nursing team to manage patients recruited into clinical studies.
Results
- 7.4 out of 10 ease-of-use rating
- 78% would recommend CAREFUL to colleagues
- 98% reported high or moderate impact on safety
- 100% reported improved safety in handover and team communication
What clinicians said
"CAREFUL enables clear communication within and between clinical teams. It is incredibly intuitive and user-friendly."
— Critical care consultant & lead for innovation, MTW NHS Trust
"I have found CAREFUL to be massively superior to our previous paper system. The ease, the fact that it can't be misplaced, and everyone can access it, make it an excellent way to track my medical intakes."
— Medical consultant, anonymous survey
Context
MTW is a multi-site trust neighbouring East Kent. The Critical Care deployment demonstrates CAREFUL operating across two hospital sites with shared patient lists, cross-site referrals and unified handover — the same multi-site pattern required for larger trust-wide deployments.