Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust annual plan for 2025/26 has highlighted its electronic patient record system to play a key role in its transformation, following an “extremely tough year financially, with less income and the need to make £61m of savings”.
The EPR programme, set to go live in September 2025, will bring the trust in line with other London trusts, as well reduce the c.4.6million pieces of paper the trust produces every month currently.
Chief executive, Matthew Trainer commented on the programme: “While the year ahead is undoubtably going to be a challenging one, there is lots to look forward to, including the introduction of our EPR, which will help us to become a more streamlined and efficient organisation.”
The EPR will replace the trust’s current patient administration system, forming part of £38m of capital invested in infrastructure, improving its hospitals for new patient pathways, and modernising clinical equipment.
BHRUT also shares plans for 25 percent of all communication with patients to be facilitated via patient portal by 2026/27, offering patients the opportunity to book and manage appointments. Improvement work is underway on “moving clinic booking to directly bookable” on the trust’s electronic referral system. This links in with the trust’s procurement strategy, which outlines objectives including the trialling of new products and technologies.
Digital plans and priorities from across the NHS
For HTN Now, we were joined by experts from across the health sector to dissect the findings from Lord Darzi’s report, reflecting on what is holding the NHS back from innovation; the challenges and missed opportunities; and the role of digital and tech in driving change, supporting a focus on prevention and promoting integrated care. Panellists included Lee Rickles, CIO, director & deputy SIRO at Humber Teaching Hospitals; Andrew Jones, digital transformation leader at Amazon Web Services; Tracy McClelland, CCIO at Dedalus; and Dan Bunstone, clinical director at Warrington Innovation Network and Warrington ICB.
A separate discussion focusing on the move from reactive to proactive care saw HTN joined by experts including Dan Bunstone, clinical director at Warrington ICB; Patrick Denston, PCN digital transformation and change manager at Frimley ICB; Pete Thomas, CCIO and executive director of digital development at Moorfields Eye Hospital; and Joseph Waller, director at Aire Logic. The session looked at how NHS organisations are beginning to make the transition to proactive care, the kinds of data and digital tools required to make the change, and the impacts beginning to be seen on patient care, outcomes, and operational pressures.
London Ambulance Service NHS Trust board shared a series of updates on current digital, data and innovation work, including an AI and automation programme, infrastructure programme, and data programme. The board share key areas of focus for its digital & data programme 2025/26, such as the implementation of robotic process automation to reduce repetitive tasks and free up administrative time, and an infrastructure programme aiming to reduce internal critical incidents by 30 percent by April 2026. The programme also involves testing and evaluating of ambient voice tech in clinical settings, the achievement of Cyber Essentials + accreditation, and the improvement of the data warehouse platform to enhance reporting.
King’s Health Partners, a partnership between Guy’s and St Thomas’, King’s College Hospital, South London and Maudsley, and King’s College London, has published a strategy to 2030 built around the three strategic priorities of delivering personalised health, improving population health, and accelerating digital health.
