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Thursday 16 March 2023

One of the UK’s most transformational electronic patient record systems is now live across Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust.

Sunrise Electronic Patient Records (EPR) which is being used by colleagues across the three hospitals in our Trust – Worcestershire Royal, Alexandra Hospital and Kidderminster Hospital and Treatment Centre – means patient information is available electronically, on screen, at any hospital location, at any time.

EPR will update in phases over the next two years and once fully capable, it will transform the way we admit, treat and discharge our patients and will make a huge contribution to the safe and effective management of patient information.

It will also result in more timely diagnosis and treatment, reduce risk and improve patient safety as well as freeing up many thousands of hours that colleagues currently spend managing paper records.

By providing our clinicians with all the information they need, at all times across the Trust in a single patient record, we will vastly improve the patient experience and help them feel confident we are working on their care in a joined-up way using EPR. 

Patients often tell us they have to give the same information to different members of staff several times or undergo repeated tests. EPR will provide the most recent and accurate information, enabling faster diagnoses, treatment plans and discharge processes for the patient.

Sunrise EPR is an important tool on our journey of continuous improvement, and is a key system that forms our overarching Digital Care Record, for recording all patient information.

Digital transformation is essential in delivering NHS services in a modern way; providing faster, safer and more convenient care.

Our work has been based on over a year’s worth of engagement across the Trust, the successful implementations of EPR at other hospitals and the NHS Digital blueprint.

Vikki Lewis, Chief Digital Information Officer, said: “Our Digital Strategy sits front and centre of our entire Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust strategy and whatever part a colleague plays in putting patients first, the future is digital. 

“The opportunities offered by digital technology to improve the quality, safety and efficiency of our services have never been greater or more important. Sunrise EPR brings us into the 21^st century as we implement digital solutions to improve our patient care and performance.”

Jon Hughes, Chief Clinical Information Officer said: “Clinical colleagues have created thousands of documents and observations in Sunrise EPR so far for new and existing patients. 

“Normally completed on paper, these updates have also allowed colleagues to refer patients directly to other wards they need to visit through EPR. Previously, this would all be done on paper records and physically handed to other teams which would add unnecessary delay. 

“Once fully capable, Sunrise EPR is set to speed up processes for staff and most importantly our patients.” 

Matthew Little, Chief Nursing Information Officer, said: “While we have only just started our EPR journey, we can already see real benefits in freeing up colleague time by reducing the need to repeat information across multiple clinical documents. 

“The introduction of a document within EPR named eObs has introduced a new level of patient safety and new tracking boards have increased visibility of patient information leading to safer care.”

Jackie Edwards, Interim Chief Nursing Officer added about EPR: “We still have a way to go in getting EPR to full capability but making the system live across the Trust is a tremendous achievement and comes after a huge amount of work and years in the planning. 

“We could not have done this without the support of all our clinical colleagues, digital partners and our system specialists from Altera who designed the software for our Trust so we thank everyone involved for getting us here.”

Dr Anna Bayes, International Medical Director from Altera Digital Health, said, “The team at Worcestershire have demonstrated incredible commitment to this project, and as a result, it has been able to quickly improve its digital maturity. Sunrise users are already benefitting from enhanced multidisciplinary communication, visibility of patient observations and serial assessments as well as gaps in care. 

“Time saved looking for paper records is also a huge advantage for busy ward staff. This is just the initial stage in Worcestershire Acute’s digitisation and we look forward to building on this momentum for even further benefits to be harnessed.”