Remote pathway for heart failure patients launched at West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust

West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has launched a new collaborative pathway allowing heart failure patients to receive IV diuretic treatment at home, a treatment that previously required a hospital stay of several days. Patients are now admitted to the trust’s community-based virtual ward to be monitored remotely, and given treatment by community nurses who have been trained by cardiac specialists. According to West Suffolk, as well as avoiding admissions, the pathway also allows patients to be treated quickly and to recover more comfortably in their own home. GPs can refer directly in to the service, and patients are usually triaged and visited within a few hours for their treatment to be confirmed and started, the trust adds. The pathway is reportedly supporting between six and eight patients per week.

East Suffolk and North Essex goes live with EPR

East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust has gone live with the Epic electronic patient record system. David Grannell, associate director digital at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS, counted down the hours to the trust’s Epic EPR launch, following “four years of working with the most amazing and dedicated group of people”. David added: “What started as a blank piece of paper, development of a business case, a site visit to Clacton in Oct 2021 ends with a big bang on 2 Oct 2025.” The EPR deployment forms part of a £190 million programme of investment over a 13-year period at East Suffolk and North Essex, including investment from the National Frontline Digitisation Fund.

In a later review of the go-live, the trust highlighted positive outcomes, learnings, and early service impact. Cash releasing benefits covered the decommissioning of legacy systems and contracts, and a reduction in time spent on admin tasks, according to the board. When considering any “surprises” from the implementation, the pace with which patients were signing up to and engaging with MyChart was cited as “much more positive than anticipated”, along with most specialities having individuals championing the system. The next phase will include a focus on benefits realisation from the EPR and the MyChart application as an enabler in driving elective care metrics such as DNAs, patient-initiated follow-up, and reduced appointment demand.

Royal Papworth study explores use of wearables in congenital heart disease monitoring

A PhD study supported by the Royal Papworth Charity’s Innovation Fund is exploring the use of wearables in monitoring patients with congenital heart disease, looking to assess accuracy in estimations of peak VO₂ levels during everyday activities, hoping to enable earlier intervention in cases of deterioration. Holly Le Winton, senior clinical respiratory physiologist, and Ben Knox-Brown, lead research respiratory physiologist, came up with the idea of measuring patients’ peak VO₂ levels and comparing them to exercise stress test results. “This is a key fitness marker which shows how well the body uses oxygen during intense activity,” Holly explained. “A decline in VO₂ max can be an early warning sign that something’s wrong and might mean a patient needs surgery or a change in treatment.”

The funding enabled the purchase of six wrist-worn and six chest-worn research-grade wearables, which, pending ethics approval, will be used to monitor around 60 CHD patients from across the country over a period of several days. “Essentially, the PhD is a feasibility study to assess whether peak VO₂ can be reliably estimated in CHD patients using wearables, and whether this kind of remote tracking can flag declines in CHD patients early enough to act,” Holly outlined. As the study progresses, participants will be asked for their feedback around their experience, ease of use, and preference over in-clinic testing.

Cambridge University Hospitals introduces care command centre and urgent care digital triage

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is transforming its urgent and emergency care by implementing a digital registration and triage tool to help deal with winter pressures, improve patient experience, and reduce waiting times. Upon arriving at the emergency department, children’s emergency department, or urgent care centre, patients are prompted to register their details using screens, with a digital assessment tool collecting information on symptoms, existing health conditions, and personal details to match their health record. The tool then triages patients, directing them to the right part of the emergency medicine service for their care, with support on hand from care navigators if required.

Despite increases of one percent in daily attendances, the trust reports that the time spent by patients in the emergency department has fallen by “almost an hour on average”, with an 18 percent improvement compared with the same period in 2024. Also noted are reductions in the number of patients waiting longer than 12 hours in the emergency department, and in ambulance handover times, as well as improvement in the four-hour target for patients to be either admitted, transferred, or discharged.

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust shares work toward new EPR

Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has shared its progress around the procurement of a new EPR, with the aim to deliver a replacement by spring of 2027. According to the trust, the procurement is motivated by the need to address “long term usability and functionality issues” in the current EPR system, said to be “the root cause of many data issues”, with the trust’s performance and finance committee in September increasing the risk score associated with “utilising digital opportunities” from 12 to 15. A new EPR programme director is being sought to lead the procurement and implementation process, with responsibilities to establish robust change management, governance, and engagement strategies, and to ensure the programme delivers on its objectives.

The Princess Alexandra Hospital shares insights on Alex Health EPR and patient portal roll-out

The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust has highlighted digital achievements in its Quality Account for 2024/25, including the launch of its Alex Health electronic health record and the My Alex Health patient portal. A purpose-built training centre was set up on the trust’s main site to support its training needs in preparation for the launch. More than 95 percent of all staff were trained prior to deployment, with the trust also supporting the implementation of 214 Alex Health ambassadors and 436 navigators, who provided “at the elbow support” to increase the quality of data entry. On the weekend of the go-live, Alex Health was deployed in clinical specialities and wards in “a carefully planned sequence”, starting with the ED on Saturday afternoon, and with all areas live by Monday morning.

Configuration and engagement continued throughout the winter months, PAHT notes, with work to support the embedding of new ways of working, additional training, and masterclasses led by subject matter experts. Over 250 system configuration changes were made to tailor the EPR to meet the trust’s specific clinical and operational requirements. A “significant amount” of work remains underway to stabilise and sustain the system, the trust states, but the programme will be moved over the coming year into part of the trust’s broader digital strategy.

Cambridgeshire Community and Norfolk Community share AI MSK outcomes amidst £2 million procurement

Cambridgeshire Community Services and Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS trusts have shared outcomes from the use of an AI app in physiotherapy services, amidst a £2 million procurement exercise to roll out a similar programme for the next three years. During a 12-week pilot at Cambridgeshire Community in partnership with the GIRFT Further Faster programme and Flok Health, patients in Cambridgeshire and Peterborough were invited to use an AI-based app for their physiotherapy, with more than 2,500 signing up. Outcomes from that pilot included a 44 percent reduction in waiting times for musculoskeletal services, and a 55 percent reduction in back pain waiting lists. The trusts also highlight “hundreds of hours” of clinician time saved to focus on patients with more complex needs.

Milton Keynes University Hospital outlines digital initiatives helping to improve patient flow and operational efficiency

Milton Keynes University Hospital has introduced a number of digital initiatives aimed at improving patient flow and operational efficiency, including electronic whiteboards on wards to offer visibility of patient status and predicted discharge dates. Feedback has been positive, the trust reports, with nursing and medical staff highlighting better understanding and management of patient flow. Digital solutions for emergency department triage and patient flow are also being explored, it states. An Ambient Voice solution for clinical note-taking has been rolled out to free-up clinician time to focus on patient care, and a Data & AI Training Academy has been launched to help build workforce capability and promote the use of data and AI safely in everyday work.

Mid and South Essex notes plans on next phase of its EPR journey

Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust has noted plans on the next phase of its Nova EPR journey to deliver a unified EPR across MSE and Essex Partnership trusts. “Replanning of the Nova programme has brought increased clarity to the critical path and forthcoming milestones supported in part by the deployment of Strategic Delivery Partners to the programme with focus in key workstream areas including Theatres and Anaesthesia; Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration and Correspondence,” it states. Priorities for the next phase cover the finalisation of the programme roadmap, and work to strengthen clinical validation capacity to maintain decision flow. The completion of these actions will be critical to meeting the Gateway 3 deadline at the end of April 2026, the trust explains. The current phase is focused on ensuring Oracle has all data collection worksheets, clinical change requests, approved workflows, and test scripts to adapt model content to suit the trusts’ requirements, informing software build and allowing both trusts to be supported in meeting planned go-live dates in 2027.