A preliminary market engagement notice from Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has shared the intent to procure a region-wide EPR for the NECTAR service, with an estimated total value of £180,000.
NECTAR is a 24-hour service offering transport to critically unwell patients, and is currently supporting the adult critical care network in the Yorkshire and Humber region for adult transfers.
The trust is actively looking for suppliers able to meet the required scope, including intuitive clinical documentation, mobile and offline access, and safe and auditable electronic prescribing.
The procured system must also be designed to support adaptability for future service and regulatory changes, with a contract set to span three years from April 2026 to March 2029.
A provisional date of 1 December 2025 is given for the publication of the tender notice, with interested parties asked to respond via the Atamis portal by 7 November, 2025.
Wider trend: Electronic patient records
For a recent HTN Now session on the topic of EPRs now and in the future, we were joined by digital leaders including Sally Mole, senior digital programme manager – digital portfolio delivery team at The Dudley Group; Keltie Jamieson, CHIO at Bermuda Hospitals Board; and David Newey, digital health expert and executive CDIO. We heard in depth from our panel in terms of their EPR journey, sharing their approach, examples, challenges and lessons learned. We went on to discuss the current position with EPRs, the opportunity, and the current need. Looking ahead, we discussed what the future of EPRs looks like in the short, medium and longer term.
Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust are moving forward on a group EPR, with a preferred supplier to be named on 30 November and a contract due to be signed in January 2026. A proposed timeline is for an initial review of the draft full business case on 13 November, followed by approval for submission to NHSE’s EPR investment board, with the supplier to be named on 30 November and the signing of a contract by 30 January.
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust’s board has shared plans to update the forecasted net financial benefit of its Hive EPR from £340 million as listed at the business case stage, to £390 million. Alongside this increase, the trust highlights a series of planned EPR improvements and integrations, as well as upcoming work with NHS England as part of a review of productivity increases following EPR adoption.
The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has selected InterSystems as its electronic patient record partner. The trust is to work with InterSystems to design the system to progressively replace paper-based notes and separate databases with “secure, integrated, accessible digital records”. Implementation planning is now underway and the programme is set to begin in 2026.
