Barry Frostick, CDIO at Mid and South Essex ICS, took to LinkedIn this week to announce the go-live of the ICS’s shared care record, highlighting the potential for the platform to “enable better connected care and safer treatment” for patients and residents.
The shared care record, which has been developed in partnership with Orion Health, aims to bring together information from local health and care organisations, offering health professionals in the region “instant access” to information, which in turn can support timely treatment and more tailored care.
Organisations involved with the shared care record include the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Essex County Council, Essex Partnership University Trust, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, North East London NHS Foundation Trust, Provide Community, Southend-on-Sea City Council, Thurrock Council, and GP practices and PCNs within the mid and south Essex region.
A dedicated webpage hosted on the Mid and South Essex ICS website offers information for local staff and residents on what the shared care record means for them, including the types of information being shared such as clinical notes, medication details, diagnostic results, treatment histories, care and support plans, allergies, upcoming appointments, discharge letters and current health conditions. The ICS adds that a data visibility guide is soon to be published that will show the information being shared by each organisation.
Digital priorities and a digital-first approach in Mid and South Essex
We’ve covered plenty of news from the Mid and South Essex region over the last few months, including the publication of Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust’s ‘Digital strategy – in to Action’ plan back in November of last year, which brought together the trust’s digital strategy and plans for its EPR. Committing to delivering “excellent, connected care through being a digital-first organisation”, the plan set out four three-year digital priorities around strong digital foundations, supporting staff, empowering residents, and integrating as an ICS.
We had chance to catch up with Matthew Hopkins, chief executive at Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, back in January, who shared with us details on the trust’s current digital projects, and hopes for the next twelve months. Matthew spoke of his pride at the ambition for what can be achieved with digital transformation and innovation at the trust, and highlighted work around a “first of type system-wide EPR”, the development of a quality learning system, and a “sustained programme of investment” in the trust’s foundational technology.
June also saw the publication of the latest annual report for the Mid and South Essex Community Collaborative, which noted some of the key digital projects and initiatives to have impacted on health and care in the region over the last 12 months, which have focused on the digitalisation of processes and enhancing the way EPR systems are used and interacted with.
