A two-year contract has been awarded to Dakota Integrated Solutions Ltd to support East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust with its Epic EPR implementation by supplying mobile devices, printers and barcode scanners as well as providing training, maintenance and support for data capture hardware and services.
The initial solution deployment is reportedly worth just over £1 million, with the possibility of extending the contract for an additional 24 months.
Samer Hassan, clinical informaticist nurse at at the trust, comments: “We are excited to be working with Dakota on this project. Having the right hardware is a crucial investment that will facilitate the smooth adoption and utilisation of our ePR across ESNEFT sites. Dakota’s ability to meet our accelerated procurement timeline showcased their agility and commitment to customer experience.”
The trust announced the selection of Epic as its EPR supplier in November last year and shared that the EPR will streamline multiple systems into one across Ipswich Hospital, Colchester Hospital and five community hospitals. Dr Damian Morris, consultant endocrinologist and one of the chief medical information officers for the EPR programme, said at the time: “The process in rolling out such a large project will be complex and will need the engagement of all our staff, and patients too. It’s an enormous process to build and test such a comprehensive system, as well as training our staff to use the new system, but we hope to go live across the trust in 2025.”
The EPR deployment forms part of a £190 million programme of investment over a 13-year period at East Suffolk and North Essex, which includes investment from the National Frontline Digitisation Fund.
We previously covered the news that the trust launched an app to support patients undergoing robotic knee surgery. Also from the region, we highlighted a case study from NSH England describing how Suffolk and North East Essex ICS collaborated with Health Innovation East to develop a culture of innovation.
In other EPR news, we reported that Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has selected its chosen EPR supplier; and we noted North London Mental Health Partnership’s announcement of a move to a single EPR system for the partnership.
