Helping our frontline in 48 hours: 5,000 NHS GPs, clinicians and key staff connected to work from home through Exponential-e's Remote Access Service solution

The UK has found itself in an unprecedented situation over the last few weeks with COVID-19 forcing people and businesses into near enough lockdown, and the number of employees needing to work from home is continuing to skyrocket.

For many in the private sector, working away from the office isn't a complete unknown, however for the public sector, remote working is unheard-of for most practitioners. This, combined with the time-sensitivity of the current situation, has caused a huge strain on operability and productivity of delivering Healthcare services across the nation at a time of need.

Our NHS has been working tirelessly since the start of the pandemic, with recent developments announced by the Health Secretary including over 7,500 retired clinicians returning to provide a helping hand. Everyone from key workers in isolation to experts from further afield need to securely access patient data in order to support the delivery of critical clinical services in the challenging situation we find ourselves in.

Over the last 48 hours, Exponential-e has securely connected over 5,000 GPs, clinicians and key workers to the Health and Social Care Network (HSCN) through its Remote Access Service (RAS) solution, enabling staff to continue supporting patients remotely. Access is gained via a simple click of a button, creating a tunnel between the user's endpoint (being a PC, iPad, iPhone or Android device) and a purpose-built Gateway that allows access to a controlled Network. The solution securely integrates with either your Active Directory or the Cloud-based Universal Directory, in addition to Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), ensuring only approved users can access the Network, providing an additional layer of control.

As a Cloud-based solution utilising soft access tokens, deployment takes a matter of hours compared to legacy solutions which require hard tokens and 3 months to provide users with access. Multiple Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), including Bexley CCG, Bromley CCG and Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust have been seamlessly connecting to the HSCN via Exponential-e's RAS solution, enabling them to increase resiliency and deliver the incredible frontline service the NHS is renowned for.

Dr Jack Aw of Loomer Medical, North Staffordshire CCG, was securely connected to the Network within 1 hour of contacting Exponential-e and quotes "As a front-line jobbing GP, within 1 hour of contacting Exponential-e, Afshin – Director of Public Sector & Unified Platforms - answered my call personally and arranged for me to have a demo account within 30 minutes. Then within 10 minutes, I was connected from a clean and secure home (dedicated PC) with no special hardware to the HSCN. I couldn't wipe the smile off my face! I have been working remotely and pushing the edge of digital health for a number of years now with little enthusiasm and much scepticism from GP colleagues, but with C19, I really don't think the World, or the NHS will ever be the same again!"

Exponential-e is a trusted supplier to the public sector as Stage 3 HSCN compliant, an approved Crown Commercial Service Supplier and on multiple Government frameworks including G-Cloud. Exponential-e also holds 8 ISO accreditations and is HMG Cyber Essentials Certified.

Click here to find out more about our HSCN RAS solution.