Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust selects Wellola’s Portasana® Platform toEnhance Patient Engagement
- sonia3974
- Apr 4
- 2 min read
Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has chosen Wellola’s Portasana® Care and Communication Platform to power its new digital Patient Engagement Portal - designed to give patients greater visibility and control over their healthcare experience.
Nick Dunaway, Chief Information Officer for Black Country Healthcare commented:
“The selection of Wellola to provide our upcoming patient portal represents another milestone in Black Country Healthcare’s work to update and enhance our digital systems. This will be our first system available to patients as well as staff and we will be working closely with patients and other key stakeholders to understand how best to tailor this to our local area, services and population.”
This new platform will seamlessly integrate with the Trust’s Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system, Rio, providing patients with secure, user-friendly access to manage appointments, receive letters electronically, complete forms online, and access valuable educational content. In a significant move to simplify digital access, patients will also be able to view and manage their appointments directly through the NHS App.
The rollout marks a major step in Black Country Healthcare’s digital transformation journey, supporting its broader mission to deliver excellent mental health and community care by empowering patients and improving operational efficiencies across the system.
Sonia Neary, CEO and Co-founder of Wellola, commented:
“Aligned with the NHS Long Term Plan and the Wayfinder Programme, deploying Portasana®, will enable Black Country Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to offer a more accessible, consistent, and person-centred digital experience for patients across its mental health and community services. At Wellola, we’re proud to offer a secure, modular, and easy-to-deploy platform that integrates fully with both the Trust’s EPR and the NHS App for Black Country Healthcare”.
Designed to reduce reliance on phone-based systems and fragmented communication channels, Portasana® acts as a secure, user-friendly digital front door—empowering patients to manage appointments, access personalised care information, and understand what to expect from their care journey.
This implementation is particularly impactful given the operational realities of mental health and community care, where services span multiple sites and systems, and patients often face barriers such as unclear pathways, short-notice letters, and limited digital access. Portasana® addresses these challenges by offering a single, integrated platform that improves communication, enhances engagement, and supports supported self-management.
At a system level, Portasana® helps the Trust manage growing referrals and complexity by streamlining workflows and reducing avoidable administrative burden—supporting NHS priorities around access, efficiency, and patient empowerment. This represents a scalable, future-proofed solution tailored to the evolving needs of modern mental health and community services.
Learn more about Black Country Healthcare here:
Learn more about Wellola here:
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