The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RJAH) has completed the roll-out of its Apollo EPR system, which replaces the trust’s current patient administration systems with an integrated digital record.
The EPR, which is supplied by System C, has involved the largest single investment the trust has ever made in a tech solution, brining functionality covering the ordering of tests and medications, the remote viewing of results, and an overview of bed use.
Teams across the trust worked on paper records during the roll-out, which lasted from Friday 9 May to Monday 12 May, with Mike Carr, COO, apologising for any inconvenience caused, adding: “To make sure we still provide patients with safe, high-quality care during and after we go-live, we need to operate at a reduced capacity for a few weeks whilst our staff get used to the new ways of working.”
Sam Young, deputy chief nurse and CNIO, commented: “Apollo will bring significant benefits for patients, from improving safety and the sharing of information between clinicians; to reducing repeat testing, hospital attendances and admissions; with improved access to appointment booking and rescheduling; and better support for patients to manage their own care.”
The trust shared the news on Twitter:
Wider trend: Electronic patient records
A recent HTN Now webinar focused on optimising and adding value to EPRs, with an expert panel including Ciara Moore, unified EPR programme director at Mid and South Essex and Essex Partnership University; Neill Crump, digital strategy director at Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust; Stacey Spence, EPR programme manager at Medway NHS FT; and Andrew Harrison, product manager at Imprivata.
A separate panel discussion with Clare Green, transformation manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and Mike Odling-Smee, CEO of Aire Innovate, explored the advantages of digital transformation from within at Leeds Teaching Hospitals, with our panel talking us through how LTHT engages clinicians to shape its in-house electronic health record, supporting flexibility, scalability and resilience across Leeds and the wider region.
Elsewhere, an NHS England board meeting discussing operational, performance, delivery, and digital, data and technology updates, noted the Frontline Digitisation programme is on track for 96 percent of trusts to have implemented an EPR by March 2026. As of March 2025, 19 trusts are listed as having no EPR, but are in the process of procuring, or implementing one.
