East Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust has shared the first successful go-live for its EmPoweR EPR programme, as the trust outlines its plans for strengthening digital foundations under its five-year integrated delivery plan.
Successful completion of the trust’s first EmPoweR EPR go-live has included the migration of the Nervecentre clinical system used to track patient flow, to a cloud-based SaaS platform to promote faster updates to EPR, it shares, with learnings from this phase to inform the next major go-live in September 2026. A paper picnic has offered insight into clinical documentation still in use across services, forming an “important foundation” for EPR preparation, it continues, highlighting current workflows and opportunities to streamline or transition to digital solutions.
Alongside the EPR, East Sussex notes other priority work across patient communication portals, targeted automation and AI, and “getting the basics right for staff” including digital connectivity, access, and digital culture. Ambitions from its five-year integrated delivery plan look at streamlining patient pathways by embedding digital with clinical and operational governance from the beginning of the pathway redesign process, reducing friction for staff through simpler access and onboarding for digital tools or systems, and strengthening clinical digital roles for safety and informatics.
Data quality, reporting and modelling is a focus, with evolved self-serve insight, and decision support, according to the trust. Work will be done to progress Sussex Pathology Network and imaging network delivery, as well as common digital platforms like PACS and LIMS, with a move toward shared reporting and “resilient” operating models. It also highlights the need for a training plan to be developed to increase workforce digital literacy and incorporate digital into job descriptions.
Impact will be measured through improved user experience and reduced time spent on administrative tasks, East Sussex states, along with improvements in data quality, timeliness of reporting, and “measurable pathway and productivity benefits” from the use of automation and AI.
Wider trend: EPR
Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust has awarded a ten-year EPR contract with a value of £52 million to Epic, taking the trust up to 2036. The trust’s board in its January meeting covered the board assurance framework, noting issues with IT infrastructure, digital maturity, and technical debt. “Lewisham and Greenwich NHS has had a phased roll out over several years of its existing EPR system which has left the trust with a partially deployed EPR for acute services and a separate community EPR with only 80 percent of our clinical systems integrated and linked to the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Patient Master Index,” it stated.
The Christie NHS Foundation Trust has shared the latest on its Future Christie programmes and work to procure a new EPR, with an outline business case considering options. A full EPR business case is now expected in Q3 2026, according to the trust board, with the commercial case and route to procurement being finalised in consultation with legal advisers, the trust procurement team, and NHS England, to ensure compliance with legislation and regulatory requirements. Work is also underway on its financial model, and on a detailed review of operational and governance arrangements following confirmation of a partner. “Finalisation of the commercial case and identification of the route to procurement will be the principal drivers to the project timeline,” the board states. “Indicative timescale for a framework procurement exercise is 12-14 months.”
Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust has signed a contract with the Access Group to introduce its electronic patient record system. Nick Black, CIO and senior information risk owner at Tees, Esk and Wear Valleys NHS has taken to LinkedIn to announce the trust’s successful procurement of the EPR. Black shares that following a “robust” procurement process, TEWV has signed a contract with The Access Group for their Rio Evo EPR, with work already starting ahead of a planned go-live in April 2027.
