Bulletin 59 – 4 May 2020


Advance notice of Integrated Clinical Environment (ICE) upgrade

GHNHSFT will be upgrading hardware and ICE software. This will require downtime lasting approximately six hours and has been scheduled to take place on Saturday 9th May 2020 between 2pm and 10pm. It is anticipated the upgrade will not impact primary care systems and as part of the upgrade the team will be carrying out user testing to confirm that primary care systems are fully functional. If users do experience any ICE issues following the upgrade, they should email the Countywide IT service desk or call 0300 422 2808.

Registration Authority (Smartcard) support for coronavirus

In light of the current situation with COVID-19, it is more important than ever that staff ensure they have a working smartcard. The Registration Authority (RA) has outlined the following steps to facilitate this:

 Register for self-service unlock by clicking here.
 Check the expiry date on your smartcard - you can do this on your profile as you register for self-service unlock. Please note when your smartcard is due to expire and contact your RA Team if it’s within the next 30 days (scwcsu.smartcards@nhs.net).
 Ensure you have access to organisations you plan to work at. There will be a Sponsor at each organisation who can assign access to you. If you are unable to locate that person, please contact the RA team.

For more information visit frequently asked questions or contact the RA team email

NHS mail for social care providers

Social care providers are being invited to register for an NHS mail account to facilitate secure communications with GP surgeries and hospital staff; some care homes have already taken up the offer.  Care homes can register for NHS mail accounts via a fast-track process. Having NHS mail means that a care home can then exchange information securely with GP surgeries and participate in MS Teams video calls, which can be useful for assessing patients remotely. If you work closely with a care home, please encourage them to register if they haven’t already done so. If they are unsure what to do next, please advise them to get in contact with GloucestershireCounty Council