Pictured above: Simon Rowland, CRT's CEO

Leading international research organisation Ipsos MORI and Customer Research Technology Ltd (CRT), the Midlands-based company specialising in feedback technology, have today announced a major strategic alliance. 

By joining forces, the two leading players now have a formidable proposition to put forward to the NHS. Together they offer real-time ward level patient feedback, coupled with high quality analytics, which informs service managers where they need to focus their attention. The proposition has the potential to drive service improvement right across the UK.

Having successfully worked together in the past, with CRT providing technology for capturing data and Ipsos MORI offering detailed and insightful analysis, the organisations have formally partnered in order to provide comprehensive, world class services, especially within the NHS and private health sectors.

Jonathan Nicholls, Head of Health Research at Ipsos MORI's Social Research Institute said: "This really is the right time to be doing this. Health service managers are under unprecedented pressure to drive up quality while managing down costs.

"The joint offer between CRT and Ipsos MORI will give them the information they need to do this."

CRT is a major supplier to the NHS, where its ViewPoint technology helps hospitals maintain and improve patient service levels.

ViewPoint works by collecting patient feedback via various methods including touch screen kiosks, tablet and slate devices, mobile phone text messages and online surveys. The sophisticated software cleverly filters the data so that the information can be trusted and relied upon by hospital management and staff.

Ipsos MORI has a long track record of using data to drive service improvements, with techniques ranging from benchmarking, performance analytics, and action planning workshops. The diagnostic work Ipsos MORI does enables its clients to pinpoint what they need to do to drive up service standards. The partnership with CRT allows Ipsos MORI's specialist health team to step this up a notch, working with real-time data to help trusts' make timely and informed service improvements.

Simon Rowland, CRT's CEO, said, "We've enjoyed working with Ipsos MORI in the past and have found this new partnership to be a natural result of two organisations who share the core value of putting the customer first."

"It's an exciting time for CRT and we are pleased that Ipsos MORI is working with us to provide the most comprehensive real time patient experience improvement service in the UK."