Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust’s latest five-year digital strategy has outlined ambitions around AI, cybersecurity, digital training, and patient-facing technologies, along with harnessing available data for business intelligence and transforming care.
Celebrating improvements from the trust’s 2022 digital strategy including “significantly improved” network connectivity, a major upgrade to the Rio EPR, and work to explore the potential of AI; AWP moves on to outline plans for using digital tools and systems in providing high quality care, working in partnership, providing sustainable services, and offering a “great place to work”.
Regular upgrades and developments to the Rio EPR system have been licensed to 2029, after which the trust places an emphasis on procuring its next EPR system, and developing a single EPR integrated with system partner organisations.
An aim is for digital and IT teams to work closely with staff across the trust to identify where support and investment is needed to deliver digital transformation, the trust states, also making a commitment to continuing to pilot and expand trials of new systems and optimising technologies to support the workforce. “As a start,” it states, “we are piloting a tool that integrates with our Rio EPR to capture clinical notes within the patient record”.
Process mapping across the trust identified digital starting points for integrating and centralising data across its operations, with the intention of introducing new tools and technologies to consolidate workflows and replace workarounds, it shares. These include improved patient records, the digital real-time Patient Wellbeing Plan, and a digitally enabled service to alert to needs for “step up” and “step down” support. The trust also plans to integrate with other data platforms to maximise data available for preventative care.
E-observations will be rolled out from 2026, and a fully digital bed management system is “a priority” to replace offline processes, according to AWP. The focus for patient tools is on interaction, support, and self-monitoring, with the trust looking to online assessments, feedback questionnaires, and digital triage. “Our aim is for a single login patient portal that prioritises support and preventative care,” it states. “It will be optimised towards mental health specific tools rather than the array of acute solutions that will sit alongside, ensuring that holistic mental and physical health take a patient first approach. Longer term, we are preparing to integrate with the NHS App.”
A trial of Ambient AI is due to take place in 2026 for the South Gloucestershire early intervention psychosis service, to capture notes and agreed actions from appointments. AWP reports setting out to explore the potential for this use of AI in reducing clinical admin time and enabling clinicians to focus more on the patient, with specific aims to examine how it might improve the co-production of the dynamic digital record with patients. Copilot is said to be allowing teams to experiment with automating tasks and reducing admin, and in future the focus will be on expanding understanding and expertise on the use of AI in mental health settings.
The Patient Wellbeing Plan will act as the centre of digital transformation across AWP, with the trust explaining how it will allow people to be more involved in their own care, including in allowing access to appointments in ways that work best for them, supporting self-monitoring, and facilitating communication on their mental health. “As a digital record, the Plan is held within the electronic patient record and shared with the service user and the GP – on paper if needed. It is an integrated plan that covers mental health, physical health and social care,” it adds.
Findings from consultations with the workforce have identified a digital skills gap, according to AWP. “Ward managers raise concerns about basic knowledge of systems and our strategy takes account of this need to grow our digital literacy and confidence.” Moving forward, digital tools will assist in developing a more connected and productive workforce, it continues, improving collaboration and access to information, and with the Ourspace intranet centralising key documents to streamline everyday tasks.
A full review of data storage was undertaken at the trust in 2025 to ascertain the suitability and cost of different models, including its move to more cloud-based software licensing whilst retaining Rio patient records within its own data centres. Looking ahead, a balance of leased, cloud-based hosting will offer “better scaleability” for digital transformation and greater opportunities to work with emerging technologies, AWP considers.
Elsewhere, the trust outlines its hopes to complete its Ambient AI pilot and accelerate the recording of information in the clinical record, rollout digital tools for voice dictation and electronic transcription, and design a new workforce digital development learning programme by 2026. By 2030, it also has ambitions to deploy AI solutions to support clinical care delivery, replace legacy IT systems, improve waiting list functionality in Rio, deploy the Federated Data Platform, and maximise the benefits offered by data platforms.
Wider trend: Digital strategies and future plans
A new trust strategy from University Hospitals Sussex has outlined “ambitious plans to deliver big changes” over the next five years, a £100 million digital transformation, £350 million in investment in clinical services, better facilities and systems, and increased use of robotic surgery and AI.
South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust has shared its upcoming digital and data strategy, along with key targets to determine its success, including the procurement and implementation of an EPR and a new patient engagement portal. Plans are for an EPR to be implemented in 2027, which it hopes will enable the delivery of additional systems such as ambient voice technology. “A clear priortisation will be required to prevent double running – AI will be part of the EPR,” it notes.
South West London ICB has highlighted progress made on its 2025/26 infrastructure strategy, along with next steps for 2026 – 2029. The ICB notes short, medium and long term plans against the National Cyber Assurance Framework to improve cyber security maturity and resilience, as well as the launch of four digital infrastructure working groups on service management, end user device and software licensing, cloud adoption, and network harmonisation.
Kent and Medway ICB’s Digital, Data and Technology strategy for 2025 – 2029 has been published, sharing intentions to personalise services, focus on prevention, promote interoperable systems, and use data-enabled strategic commissioning to target needs and allocate system resources.
