AI Policy from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals covers procurement, responsibilities, and development of AI

An AI Policy from Doncaster and Bassetlaw Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has set out a guiding framework to ensure “the appropriate deployment, management, and oversight of AI systems across the DBTH partners”. In accordance with the policy, the SIRO will hold responsibility for the overall governance and management of information risks associated with AI systems, ensuring appropriate risk management processes, controls, and policies are in place, as well as addressing risks and adverse impacts. The Caldicott Guardian will ensure data is processed in line with the Caldicott Principles, and the Trust Data Protection Officer will oversee compliance with data protection regulations, DPIAs, and data protection concerns.

North East Ambulance Service shares 2026/27 strategic objectives on transition to digital and better use of data

North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) NHS Foundation Trust has shared its 2026/27 strategic objectives, looking to make the transition to digital and to promote the better use of data across the organisation. Ambitions are to develop data-driven clinical interventions and left shift, improving the evidence base and defining a clinical operating model to meet changing patient needs, it states. Another of the objectives is around the move from analogue to digital, with focuses to be placed on testing AI and robotic process automation, as well as wider digital solutions offering enhanced efficiency, insight, or future capabilities. Data and insights will continue to be developed to identify unwarranted variation and inform clinical priorities, NEAS continues, and a formal delivery plan for AI and robotic process automation will be drafted.

Barnsley Hospital NHS FT notes cyber progress in annual cyber report

Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s annual cyber security report has shared insights into recent upgrades and assurance, in line with recommendations from external parties and professional bodies. Over the last year, the trust has upgraded its backup solution to provide a “digital air gap”, replaced its antivirus/malware and device control solution, upgraded its server antivirus solution, and completed whole system upgrades for radiology and pathology systems.

An annual cyber security penetration test has also been completed using individuals who are “leaders in hacking technology” to provide recommendations on areas for improvement, and the board underwent NCSC assured board cyber security training in July. Work is continuing with suppliers to move toward fully supported and patched operating systems and firewalls. Technology solutions have also been employed to ensure organisation servers and computers are kept up-to-date with the latest antivirus and malware defences, and firewalls have been replaced with CareCERT and National Cyber Centre certified solutions from CISCO. Full end point protection of devices is in place to recognise and combat threats, updated daily to protect against malware on devices or email, blocking ports and stopping staff or guests copying information onto removable storage devices.

Digital maturity blueprint from County Durham and Darlington sets trajectory for cloud infrastructure, automated monitoring, and AI

A digital maturity blueprint from County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust has laid out a three-year roadmap with the intention of increasing the organisation’s DMA score from its current 2.5 to 4.5 by 2027/28. The trust shares plans to tackle gaps in areas including cloud infrastructure, automated monitoring, patient engagement, AI, and workforce digital skills. For 2026/27, it hopes to have introduced a cloud-first infrastructure and migration plan, integrated core EPRs with periphery systems, and embedded LIMS; whilst 2027/28 is focused on EPR integration with bi-directional data flows, and the testing and “pipelining” of automation.

Current priorities for the trust around empowering people include work on digitising appointment and clinical letters, self-service kiosks, increasing access to records and appointments via the NHS App, and AI. For 2026/27, the aim is to have a patient engagement portal across all services, to use digital clinics pre-surgery, to implement remote monitoring and wearables for certain specialities, to embed AI for appointment scheduling, and to use digital consultations in more than 50 percent of cases. By 2027/28, digital consultations should be fully integrated into EPR, with patients able to access records, update their own data, and book appointments directly through the NHS App. AI and analytics will play an increasing role in CDDFT’s trajectory for improving care, with the trust currently looking at piloting AI tools for both clinical and admin functions, promoting regular access to the shared care record, and integrating virtual wards with EPR.

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust plans EPR go-live for October 2026

Airedale NHS Foundation Trust has shared progress and challenges around its EPR programme, with a planned go-live set for 19 October 2026. “A comprehensive programme plan has been signed off by the trust board in December 2025 with a go-live date agreed with Oracle Health and system partners for the 19 October 2026,” the board states.

Digital tools and systems support green commitments at Yorkshire Ambulance Service

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust has published its latest Green Plan to 2028, outlining a series of commitments including reducing emissions and carbon footprint, and making its estates more sustainable. The trust shares how digital is helping it to meet these ambitions, noting a new system for digital medicines management that is helping reduce reliance on paper documentation and managing waste, and the use of digital systems for clinical updates and alerts. Patient communications are also being transitioned from paper leaflets to digital formats, it adds, with a target date of March 2027. A new digital strategy is reportedly expected by July 2026, which will help set digital priorities and identify how digital can contribute to carbon reduction, with related initiatives to be completed by 2031. A technical strategy is also expected to be published at the same time, looking to cloud-first principles and resilient infrastructure.

Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber shares digital plans as IT becomes “largest single expenditure of capital” for first time in 2026/27

Rotherham, Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust has outlined a series of digital plans and priorities as IT spend becomes the trust’s “largest single expenditure of capital” for the first time in 2026/27, overtaking building maintenance or refurbishment. “From 2026/27 there are a number of critical ‘extend or renew’ decisions that will need to be assessed and funded,” RDaSH states. “These include firewalls; servers and data storage; telephony; back-up hardware replacement; anti-virus software; wide area network replacement; and endpoint replacement. There is also the exciting prospect of ambient voice technology supporting enhanced clinical care and increased productivity.”

The trust’s firewall contract is also set to expire in July 2027, with the board highlighting this as “an opportunity to transition to a cloud based design that offers improved business continuity and better alignment with future estates plans”. It considers there may be benefits for moving to a cloud solution ahead of the contract end to align with planned estate changes, promoting flexibility and future-ready infrastructure. Moving on to data storage, the trust shares that it has been actively making a transition to a cloud-centric model, with key systems including clinical, finance, HR, and procurement, now cloud-based.

South West Yorkshire Partnership updates and next steps for electronic prescribing

In a recent board meeting, South West Yorkshire Partnership Teaching NHS Foundation Trust shared updates around electronic prescribing, highlighting progress on EPMA and a 12-month plan for roll out of the electronic prescription service across three phases. EPMA has recently been successfully rolled out at Cheswold Park Hospital in Doncaster, the trust reports, replacing inpatient paper medication charts with an electronic medication chart within SystmOne. Feedback from staff has been positive, it continues, specifically highlighting improvements to patient safety.

On the electronic prescription service, South West Yorkshire states that planning is currently underway for roll out in community mental health, with three phases to be carried out over a 12-month period. Phase one will focus on adult ADHD with a small scale pilot with one team to test the process. Phase two will then look to CAMHS and community mental health teams for wider scale implementation, to include “most of the teams and services in scope”. Finally, work is being carried out for phase three to identify teams in scope, including community learning disabilities, and community forensic.

Gateshead Health NHS plans to tackle paper records and procure acute clinical EPR

The board of Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust has discussed a number of digital updates outlining work towards a digital strategic plan, developing a digital front door, through to procurement and medium-term planning. The trust’s draft digital strategic plan, the enabling digital plan to its corporate strategy, was considered, with the need for further revisions identified to refine language for the target audience, the board notes. A clinical communication strategy is also in development, with an update expected imminently from the medical director.

A business case is underway for an acute clinical EPR, and work is ongoing with the finance team on medium term planning. The target operating model is focused on a paper records plan, with the board highlighting that costs associated with paper records are “significantly higher than peer trusts”, and that benefits could be realised by freeing-up space. Joint procurement principles from an alliance perspective have been reviewed, the board continues, with some practical issues reported, but plans to focus first on areas where benefits are expected, such as in hardware, commodities, and printers.

Harrogate and District NHS updates on EPR implementation, digital maturity and roadmap

 For 2025/26, the focus is on delivering the Nervecentre EPR, as well as the improvement of overall digital maturity scores. Outcomes from the Digital Maturity Assessment are being analysed to identify and plan opportunities for improvement. 

The trust recently celebrated the successful launch of phase two of its Nervecentre EPR, “significantly” expanding its functionality and moving forward with hopes of realising “safer” and “more coordinated” care. The phase two launch incorporates urgent and emergency care, and allows clinical documentation, internal referrals, bed management, and e-observations to be completed within the EPR. 

AI, automation and single EPR from Mid Yorkshire Teaching

The board of Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust has shared a series of updates around digital, including on AI, automation, and its EPR, alongside the approval of its latest digital, data, and technology strategy to 2030. Focus areas for the next five years include the consolidation of systems into a single EPR platform, the use of AI and automation, the development of a digital front door, data science, cyber-safe infrastructure, a digital- and data-driven culture, and digital inclusion. Building on digital health and data science principles, the organisation aims to use predictive analytics to identify at-risk groups and enable proactive care interventions; harness real-time data to track patient journeys and focus-in on evidence-based interventions; use new tech like AI-driven imaging and smart devices to accelerate care pathways and enhance productivity; and leverage cloud computing and paperless workflows to reduce carbon footprint.

The trust sets out in the strategy an aim to complete the transition to a single EPR by summer 2028, adopting a two-phased approach, and working with organisations on the same platform to share learning, resources, and knowledge to encourage benefits from “a collaborative approach with economies of scale across the NE&Y region”. It is hoped that the EPR will improve overall digital maturity, with the ambition to achieve HIMSS Stage 5-6 in terms of adoption and benefit delivery by 2030. Robotic process automation is already in use at MYTT, the board shares, where it is automating repetitive, rule-based tasks across the organisation. By deploying onto a unified West Yorkshire platform, it hopes to standardise and scale this automation for appointment scheduling and coding, promoting efficiency and consistency, and freeing-up staff time.

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals board discuss EPR moving from implementation to stabilisation

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust shared updates and priority areas as its Connect EPR programme moves from the implementation to the stabilisation phase. On the priority areas for stabilisation the trust notes a focus on redesigning of clinics within Connect to improve patient bookings, ensuring no gaps in system design around workflows may hinder the delivery of patient care, and ensuring correspondence is “being completed and messaged in a timely way” with an initial focus on discharge summaries and clinical letters. Teams will be mobilised to support stabilisation across the organisation, and work will take place on key administrative pathways.

North West Ambulance Service strategy focuses on digital and data to 2031

North West Ambulance Service NHS Trust has published a new strategy to 2031 with focuses on embracing innovation and taking advantage of opportunities from digital and data to better coordinate care, improve clinical decision support, and gain insight into demand. High-level deliverables cover the use of data to identify contributing factors to avoidable harms, the implementation of a digital safeguarding referral system, the development of an Early Warning System drawing on patterns in datasets to point to risks to patient safety, and improved tracking and monitoring of medicines using digital solutions for stock management and a controlled drug register.

In the next five years core digital systems will be connected to improve data flow and interoperability with system partners, an AI options appraisal will be completed, additional digital access channels will be introduced, and digital translation tools will be explored for their benefits in improving experience and safety. Dispatch processes will be automated, AI and advanced decision support will help ensure high-risk patients are identified early, a remote clinical workforce will support with secondary triage and assessment, and alternative pathways with partners will be enabled by digital solutions for seamless care transfer, the trust states. Clinical assessment will be enhanced by remote consultations, integrated shared care records, and “streamlined” direct booking to improve care coordination.

Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals highlights digital developments across cyber, EPR, digital tools

Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Group published an update highlighting a number of digital developments across digital inequalities, cyber, EPR, digital tooling, and the Great North Care Record. “As part of our ongoing efforts to improve productivity and deliver cost savings, we have implemented several digital solutions that enhance the efficiency of services,” the trust shared. “These developments focus on the optimisation of systems, streamlining workflows, and reducing administrative burdens.”

On its EPR, the trust reports findings from a survey of staff, with 1,000 responses helping identify key issues such as slow system speed, data accessibility, and documentation burden. It shares benefits around the move to remotely hosted EPR servers, including staff time savings, strengthened cyber security, and reduced risk of data centre outages. Care plans have been optimised within the EPR, covering pain and falls prevention, and three dynamic end of shift documents have been improved to standardise nursing documentation. A “long awaited” upgrade to ophthalmology EPR has been made, and the mediSIGHT platform is reportedly helping improve data collection quality for national reporting, medication management, and device integration.

The Rotherham NHS marks progress in patient engagement, data, new tech, and AI

A 12 month digital strategy update from The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust has marked “significant” progress in patient engagement, data, new tech, and AI. The trust’s EPR is listed by the board as a key objective for the year ahead, with the EPR programme agreed and work progressing. Meditech triage implementation has been scheduled, and the transition from Windows 10 to Windows 11 is underway. Digital tools such as PowerBI are helping to analyse trust productivity, with the board also noting that digital is helping to reduce labour-intensive processes for the trust’s priority of waiting list validation. The trust plans to roll out electronic triage in additional specialties, with scores visible in PowerBI to improve prioritisation and efficient use of clinic and theatre capacity.

The Rotherham sets out aims around integrating AI, and so far the trust has put in place a structured approach to measuring benefits, with initiatives including data academies and the launch of an AI subgroup highlighted. A cautious approach is reportedly being taken to the use of AI in clinical settings, but it is currently in use in non-clinical settings for administrative tasks. The DNA AI tool has demonstrated a positive impact on DNA rates for specialties, with full rollout completed in November and the trust monitoring ongoing outcomes. On data, The Rotherham notes that work has begun toward utilising the Federated Data Platform, and inpatient data notifications have been implemented.

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals highlight EPR implementation and digital plans

The board of York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has shared an update on progress around EPR implementation, next steps, and future focuses for digital. Overall progress is reported as “in line with plan”, with go-live of the first tranche beginning on 27 February 2026, including observations, clinical documentation for inpatients, urgent & emergency care, electronic prescribing and medicine administration, and read-only diagnostic results. The second tranche, which contains full order comms, is set to go live on 30 June, 2026, with the third to follow on 30 October.

“Good progress” is reportedly being made on configuring the Nervecentre product, with engagement focusing on the use of digital champions, and user acceptance testing to continue until January 2026. A trust resilience group will also shortly be established to focus on EPR readiness activities. Elsewhere, the trust is continuing with its multi-year programme of paper records scanning and storage consolidation, is supporting AI trials across diagnostics, and is working on wider trials of Microsoft Copilot with a focus on efficiency opportunities. An AI knowledge base for the organisation is also being built, supported by Microsoft Sharepoint adoption.

Phase one EPR go-live at North Cumbria Integrated Care

North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust is celebrating the go-live of phase one of its EPR, with the trust offering its thanks to all those involved in helping the go-live run “smoothly”. Taking to LinkedIn, the trust said: “Thank you to all colleagues for your dedication – this has been a brilliant team effort across NCIC!” Floorwalkers and the command centre were on hand to offer support for ward teams during the go-live, it continues, with members of the Alcidion team also on site to pitch in. The go-live was originally scheduled for 3 March 2026, but deferred due to NHSE approval delays, the NCIC board shared in a recent meeting, in which it also detailed “lower than planned” expenditure of £9.21 million on the EPR project.