03 Dec 2018
Global recognition for our IT Service Desk
NHS Informatics Merseyside has become one of only two health care organisations in the world to be given four-star certification by the Service Desk Institute (SDI), the only industry, standards-based, accreditation programme specifically designed to certify service desk quality.
NHS Informatics Merseyside has become one of only two health care organisations in the world to be given four-star certification by the Service Desk Institute (SDI), the only industry, standards-based, accreditation programme specifically designed to certify service desk quality.
The IT Service Desk is one of the largest 24/7 IT support services in the NHS, looking after approximately 240 IT systems and responding to over 135,000 support requests every year, of which 60% are fixed at the first point of contact.
The four-star certification rating was awarded to NHS Informatics Merseyside following a rigorous auditing programme, which assessed the IT service desk against nine areas covering leadership, policy and strategy, people management, resources, processes and procedures, managing employee satisfaction, managing the customer experience, performance results and social responsibility.
By proving our performance against an international framework of standards and gaining accreditation at the four-star maturity level, NHS Informatics Merseyside is clearly demonstrating our commitment to enhancing both the quality of their service and the overall service desk experience for staff and customers.
Reflecting on the recent accreditation, Damian Bowen, IT Service Management Advisor and Consultant at the Service Desk Institute said: “Congratulations on increasing your scores across a number of concept areas and achieving your vision of becoming a 4-star business led certified service desk. The leadership team is clearly committed to enhancing and adopting service management best practice, as evidenced by the commissioning of this latest SDC surveillance audit.”
Tessa Troubridge, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at the Service Desk Institute added: "This is a fantastic achievement for the service desk team at Informatics Merseyside and one which the whole organisation should be extremely proud of. The team is clearly focused on the needs and expectations of both the staff and patients with an excellent customer experience programme in place. This is reflective of their strong desire to provide excellent service. The service desk's passion and care for its people, combined with the desire to enhance their service through global best practice is a model all service desks should aspire to."
Sarah Deane, Acting Service Desk Team Leader at NHS Informatics Merseyside, said: “Since being awarded three-star certification in 2014, we have worked tirelessly as a team to review our processes and identify ways of doing things differently to improve and offer the very best service to the IT users we support. As healthcare professionals, every minute matters when you have a problem and that’s why taking part in the certification process is so important for us as it provides a benchmark and framework for improvement. As a Service Desk we are a true team, with every member displaying a tangible passion, enthusiasm and drive to deliver not only an excellent service but added value as part of every interaction – this is what distinguishes us and helps us to deliver exceptional service! I am delighted that our hard work has paid off with the achievement of our four-star business-led certification and I look forward to working with my colleagues and those we support to implement further improvements in the time ahead.”
Steven Parker, Associate Director of IT, at NHS Informatics Merseyside, added: I am extremely proud of the Service Desk Team and their achievement. To be awarded 4 stars is by no means an easy feat and is excellent recognition of their hard work. The SDI framework has enabled them to go from strength to strength providing an excellent customer focused service, which receives excellent feedback on a daily basis. Using the framework we will continue to push forward to further increase the service and experience we provide to our customers and look to improve our star rating.”
For more information about the service desk certification programme please visit the Service Desk Institute (SDI) website.
Alternatively, read more about NHS Informatics Merseyside's IT Service Desk.