Ambulance Care Limburg

Application foundation for efficient and effective ambulance organization

The ambulance services Limburg North and South have formed one organization since January 1, 2023: Ambulance Care Limburg. This delivers many effectiveness gains, allowing further construction of future-proof and quality care in the province. Valid supported the IT side of this complex merger helped harmonize primary business functions (HR, ride-declaration and planning). This laid the foundation for further alignment of work processes.

Challenge: harmonize applications, data and infrastructure

Although both merger partners provide identical healthcare services, there are major differences. For example, in work processes and in supporting systems. Michel van Zundert, information manager of Ambulancezorg Limburg, explains that it soon became clear that the new organization did not have the expertise to take care of the harmonization of applications, data and infrastructure by itself. Therefore, after market consultation, Valid was recruited for support.

Because there were time constraints, Ambulancezorg Limburg wanted to start by leveling up the critical processes, the must haves: salary payment and trip billing. These two critical processes are related to the personnel system, the service planning system and the financial system.

Ambulance Care Limburg 2
Ambulance Care Limburg
Solution: migration with North as the starting point

Jeroen Roggebrand of Valid played a leading role in the functional set-up of applications and migration of data. Because time was short, a pragmatic approach was chosen, using Noord's systems as a starting point. The AFAS payroll system and the Exact financial administration had priority and were transferred. The same goes for the trip declaration system. Ambulance Care Limburg also switched to a single application environment for rostering and scheduling.

Benefit of collaboration: making quick strides

According to Van Zundert, Valid's quality complemented the strength of the in-house team well. Valid spent a lot of time on data migration and testing, which, according to Roggebrand, ultimately made it possible to go live without any significant problems. Van Zundert: "We would not have been able to do this on our own within the allotted time. Valid's added value lies in keeping us on track. And in the availability of good people."

Ramona Simons, manager of operations Ambulancezorg Limburg adds: "The Valid team relieved us to an extreme degree. They have shown great expertise. Also very pleasant are the short lines of communication. That gives you confidence that you are doing the right thing, that it will all be done and that it will succeed. Van Zundert: "That confidence is important. These are complex projects that rarely happen. In which, as a relative layman, you cannot fathom all that is involved. Then it is important to have the confidence that we are still in control."

"In this kind of complex process, it is important to be able to trust that we are still in control."

Michel van Zundert Information manager Ambulance Care Limburg
Valid - woman workplace
Valid - man workplace
The result: the must-haves in order

In ten months, the most important must haves were realized and the application foundation was laid for an efficient and robust organization. Van Zundert: "There are certainly things we still want and need to optimize further. But the ambulance gets to the patient on time, we can declare our trips, and pay our suppliers and pay the salaries."

"Valid was engaged to bring the functional changes to fruition," Van Zundert continued. "But Jeroen also pointed out the broader impact on the business. He made it clear what the financial consequences were, so we could take timely action there. That goes beyond the infrastructural, ICT side of things," says Van Zundert. Simons adds: "Jeroen is an expert in his field, but he keeps a close eye on the human side, and understands what people need in terms of attention and appreciation to stay motivated."

Future: ready for further innovation

Due to the tight deadline, compromises were made and, in the case of trip registration, everything remained as it was for the time being. In the long term, modernization of the office ICT is also necessary to strengthen security and enable further innovation. Building a future-proof information system is also on the agenda. Simons: ''There is still plenty to do for the time being."

Ambulance Care Limburg
  • Formed on January 1, 2023 from a merger between Ambulance Care Limburg-Noord and ambulance service of GGD Zuid-Limburg
  • Is available 24 hours a day to provide medical assistance
  • Has more than 400 employees
  • Is urgently called to patients more than 85,000 times a year
  • Has 16 ambulance stations
Added value Valid
  • Great knowledge of and experience in managing complex change projects
  • Great knowledge of and experience in the ICT domain
  • Structured, yet flexible approach and project management
  • Contribution of high-quality capacity
  • Quality-oriented, with a strong focus on testing
  • High handling speed
  • Added value throughout all aspects and phases of the project
  • Eye for the business impact
  • Long-term view
  • Teamwork with client and client business partners