Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has issued a preliminary market engagement notice indicating its intent to explore options for transforming paper-based patient communications through introducing a digital-first approach.
The trust is seeking early engagement with suppliers who can offer modern and integrated solutions to help deliver this approach, looking to gain a better understanding of market capability and best practices to inform the development of a full specification.
The contract is estimated to run from July 2026 to June 2028, with the possibility to extend to June 2030. The engagement deadline is set for 20 October 2025, with an initial publication date for the upcoming tender notice given as 1 April 2026.
Mid and South Essex NHS 10-year strategy, published earlier this year, outlines work to be done toward introducing tools and processes to make it easier for patients to engage. “We’ll make sure we actively engage with patients, their families, and the voluntary and community sectors in our major transformation programmes to co-design and co-produce services that meet their needs,” it states.
Mid and South Essex also announced a collaboration with Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust on a £65 million contract agreement with Oracle Health late last year. The agreement is for an EPR system aiming to improve clinician access to real-time patient information and enhance patient experience by preventing them “having to re-tell their health or care history whenever they see a health professional”.
According to the trusts, the EPR system is expected to launch in 2026/27, and “will build on current digital investments to create a single patient record system across hospitals, mental health and community services”, supporting the trust’s commitments to joined-up care.
Wider trend: Patient-facing tech
For an HTN Now panel discussion on advancing patient engagement with communication tech and patient portals, we were joined by experts including Jothi Vasan-O’Leary, medical information officer and outpatient clinical lead (GIRFT) at University Hospitals of Derby and Burton; Daniel Parkinson, digital IT project manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals; Sally Mole, senior digital programme manager – digital portfolio delivery team at The Dudley Group; and Emma Stratful, chief operating officer at OX.DH. Our panellists, discussed adoption, engagement, the use of AI and automation technologies, functionality and the future role of patient portals and communication tech in tackling NHS challenges.
The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust has highlighted digital achievements in its latest Quality Account for 2024/25, including the launch of its Alex Health electronic health record and the My Alex Health patient portal. The portal went live in March 2025, with the trust reporting 875 patient registrations in its first month in dermatology. “Of 300 patients invited to register on the portal in the first week, 99 percent registered on first invitation,” it shares. The roll-out will continue to further specialties with expected completion by the end of summer 2025. At present, functionality covers the ability to manage appointments, view hospital letters digitally, receive appointment reminders from a mobile phone, view results and reports, and receive messages from consultants.
At its annual user group meeting, Epic introduced two AI solutions, ‘Emmie’ and ‘Art’, designed to offer support for patients between appointments and to gather contextual information and insights around patient health concerns for clinicians prior to patient visits. Taking to LinkedIn, Epic shared the impact of Emmie for patients, said to be informed by patient charts and their connected devices, the AI offers functionality such as “easy-to-understand” explanations of test results, suggested next steps, and conversations about different aspects of their health.
