Little Green Button is Now DTAC Compliant!
We are delighted to announce that Little Green Button is now DTAC-compliant! Over the last few months, we have been working with regulatory consultant Safehand to ensure that we meet the strict NHS Digital Technology Assessment Criteria (DTAC) and have completed a DCB 0129 compliance project.
What is DTAC?
The Digital Technology Assessment Criteria, or DTAC, is a set of requirements from the NHS for digital health tools that staff, patients and citizens use. It’s essentially a long questionnaire that asks how digital health tools ensure that their product is safe and secure. The DTAC aims to give confidence that these tools meet the NHS’ clinical safety, data protection, technical security, interoperability, usability and accessibility standards.
The DTAC brings together legislation and good practice within these standards, and is the national baseline criteria for any digital health tool that is used in the NHS and within social care. It helps healthcare organisations assess suppliers (like Little Green Button) at procurement or as part of the due diligence process.
To comply with DTAC, we also needed to complete a DCB 0129 compliance project to offer a firm position on whether Little Green Button qualifies as a medical device or not. Safehand helped us complete this project in partnership with a Clinical Safety Officer, who issued a hazard log and clinical safety case report. There are over 60 requirements, and we’re pleased to say that we have met every single one.
Why has Little Green Button only become DTAC-compliant now?
We have been working with the NHS and in social care for nearly 20 years, and our development team has always worked to strict criteria to ensure that the Little Green Button is safe and compliant with any required standards.
The DTAC was officially launched in February 2021, and a review has since highlighted a number of areas where it’s unclear how DTAC should be applied. We’ve been working with the NHS, Safehand and other partners to determine how the DTAC applies to us, and that’s why we’ve now completed the DTAC alongside the DCB 0129.
“We’re pleased to have completed our DTAC and DCB 0129 compliance projects so our NHS and healthcare customers can be assured that we follow best practice and adhere to the highest standards of compliance,” says Alex Jay, CEO at Little Green Button.
“We’re very grateful to Safehand who have helped us by providing a fantastic Clinical Safety Officer Louise Caney who has provided expert advice on how to demonstrate our extensive knowledge and safety procedures in the DTAC and DCB 0129.”
What does this mean for Little Green Button customers?
The Little Green Button software has not changed in any way due to our DTAC compliance – we have simply shown that our own strict processes meet NHS England’s clinical safety standards and security and accessibility requirements.
However, now that we are DTAC-compliant, customers can use this in discussions with stakeholders to show that our panic alarm software will meet your organisation’s needs. If you’re trying to get buy-in for Little Green Button, whether for the first time or as a renewal, you can tell them the following things:
- A clinical safety officer has overseen a risk assessment and documentation on whether Little Green Button is safe and has agreed it meets requirements under the Health and Social Care Act 2012
- Little Green Button has met over 60 requirements to be deemed safe to be used in clinical settings
- Little Green Button must keep its hazard log and safety case up to date, so you can be assured that all future features and updates to the software will be at a high safety standard
We are committed to staff, patient and public safety and will always strive to meet or exceed safety standards to ensure all our users are protected. You can find out more about the DTAC on NHS England’s website.