Increased need for document retrieval
This NHS Care Trust brings together health and social care to offer joined-up services to the 220,000 patients registered at GP practices in the borough. When the Trust was first formed, it took the opportunity to close legacy buildings and move staff into more efficient accommodation.
In doing so, the Trust encountered document storage issues. Their Information Governance Manager explains: “We found massive amounts of paper records in places like cellars and attics. Accommodating those files in our new buildings would have been too expensive.”
Legislation like the Freedom of Information Act, together with an increasing tendency towards litigation, meant requests for document retrieval were exploding. That made strict storage disciplines even more crucial. Lacking the resources to set up its own records management organisation, the Trust sought an outsourced solution.
Efficient record management
Iron Mountain® was chosen because of its track record and long experience. Documents from different departments were moved to a secure Iron Mountain storage location, then categorised according to source. For example, children’s services records were treated as one category. Procurement codes were added, not only to assist in retrieval but also to aid in allocating costs to different departments.
To further improve response times, the document archives were split into active records in open-shelf storage and inactive records in boxes. Departments keep documents locally for some six months, then archive them for around 30 months with Iron Mountain as active records. Anything older is classified as inactive, although retrieval may be necessary. At present, there are 4,000 active and 34,000 inactive files occupying 3,500 cubic feet of storage space.
Smart tools and project management
To arrange for documents to move into storage, Iron Mountain provides local managers with a toolkit that includes categorisation instructions, transmittal forms and duplicate bar-coded labels. For bulk document transfers Iron Mountain sends a project team.
All document transfers are recorded via the Iron Mountain Connect™ online portal. This ensures a failsafe electronic record and facilitates the retrieval process. Iron Mountain provides a track-and-trace audit trail of retrieved documents. The Information Governance Manager explains, “Iron Mountain’s attention to detail is absolutely amazing.”
Secure document destruction is the next stage. Using state-of-the-art Iron Mountain shredding facilities, 100 percent of redundant documentation from the central store, as well as that collected from the Trust’s 40 sites, will be recycled.
