Reference table
Severity and escalation
Sets out the support severity levels, what each one covers, the response target for each, and the path an issue takes as it escalates.
Severity measures the operational consequence of a fault to the hospital, not how hard the fault is to fix. There are four levels. Severity 1 is handled around the clock on every support tier, and the other three are handled within the support hours the hospital records on its order form. This page sets out the four levels, the response and restoration targets that attach to each, and how a ticket is escalated.
What severity measures
Severity is a measure of what the hospital cannot do, and by when it cannot do it. It is set by consequence, so a small defect that stops a whole department outranks a large defect that inconveniences one user. The reporting contact proposes the level when the ticket is raised, and Pensieve confirms or corrects it on first response. Pensieve does not lower a severity over the hospital's objection.
| Severity | Operational consequence | Handled |
|---|---|---|
| Severity 1: Critical | A core function is unavailable or unusable, or produces materially incorrect output, with no acceptable workaround; or a confirmed or strongly suspected security incident affects the hospital's tenancy; or data is shown against the wrong patient. | Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, on every tier. |
| Severity 2: High | A core function is materially degraded or partly unavailable, or a single site or department is affected while the rest of the hospital works, and any workaround is materially burdensome. | Within the hospital's support hours. |
| Severity 3: Medium | A function does not behave as documented and an acceptable workaround exists, or performance is below target without stopping a transaction. | Within the hospital's support hours. |
| Severity 4: Low | A cosmetic defect, a documentation error, a question, a configuration request, or an enhancement request. Nothing is actually broken. | Within the hospital's support hours. |
Severity 1 does not wait for business hours
A hospital does not have business hours. A Severity 1 ticket is received, acknowledged and worked twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, on every support tier, including the business-hours tier. The support hours recorded on the order form set the handling of Severity 2, Severity 3 and Severity 4 only.
Support hours
Each hospital records its support hours on the order form as either business-hours support or twenty-four by seven support. The exact hours a hospital holds are set in its service level agreement. Whichever it holds, Severity 1 is always covered around the clock.
Response and restoration targets
Every severity carries a response target, and the higher severities carry a restoration target as well. The response target is the time to a first substantive reply from a named Pensieve engineer that acknowledges the ticket, confirms or corrects the severity, and states the next step. An automated acknowledgement of receipt is not a response. The restoration target is the time to a workaround that lets the affected process continue. A more serious severity carries a shorter target than a less serious one, and a Severity 1 target is measured in elapsed clock time rather than business hours.
Pensieve applies continuous effort towards a full resolution but does not guarantee a time to resolution, because the time to correct an unknown defect cannot be promised in advance. The response and restoration target for each severity, the update cadence while a ticket is open, and how each is measured are set in the service level agreement recorded on the hospital's order form.
Escalation
Escalation adds authority and attention to an open ticket. It does not transfer the ticket, restart any clock, or reduce the effort applied. It runs two ways at once.
Escalation is automatic. A ticket that is still open at the times set in the service level agreement moves up a defined escalation ladder on its own, from the first responder through to the delivery lead, without the hospital asking.
Escalation is also available on request. An authorised support contact escalates a ticket to any level at any time, without waiting for the automatic trigger. No reason is required and none is asked for. The escalation is recorded on the ticket, and Pensieve acknowledges a requested escalation within the acknowledgement time the agreement states for that severity.
Service credits
Service credits apply where a commitment that carries one is missed. The response targets for Severity 1 and Severity 2 carry a service credit, and a Severity 1 that persists carries a restoration credit. The service level agreement sets out which commitments carry a credit and how each one is calculated.
Common questions
Who decides the severity of a ticket?
The reporting contact proposes a level when the ticket is raised. Pensieve confirms or corrects it on first response. Where the two disagree, the hospital's assessment governs the response obligation until the disagreement is resolved, and Pensieve may record its own view alongside it.
Does raising a Severity 1 depend on our support hours?
No. Severity 1 is received, acknowledged and worked around the clock on every tier. Support hours set the handling of Severity 2, Severity 3 and Severity 4 only.
Do we need a reason to escalate?
No. An authorised support contact escalates a ticket to any level at any time. No reason is required and none is asked for, and the escalation is recorded on the ticket.
Read how a ticket is raised in the first place in getting help, where the boundary of each side's duties sits in shared responsibility, and why a wrong-patient display is always a Severity 1 in critical results.