University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is set to hold a 90-day go-live event on 28 April, ahead of the planned go-live of its Epic EPR on 23 July 2026.
The trust shares how it is taking on board learnings from the success of Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust’s earlier Epic go-live, focusing on developing super users, on bringing elements of the project forward, and on workforce digital literacy training.
With the due date of July 2026, the trust outlines plans to run digital literacy training for all staff as part of training on the system, with each staff member reportedly to receive “active support” in utilising relevant digital equipment in accordance with their role. They will also be taken through “the basics” on digital tools to promote confidence, and be able to book onto digital literacy apprenticeships. Early super user training is already underway, UHP notes, with a focus on ensuring sufficient practical support in understanding the changes that may be seen in staff’s specific environments.
“Go/no go” criteria have been developed along with divisional readiness checklists, according to UHP, whilst some project elements have been brought forward in line with learnings from Torbay and South Devon. A partnership working approach with Torbay and South Devon is also anticipated in approaching go-live, with support offered from UHP during their go-live expected to be returned. Next steps are looking at data migration and welcoming non-UHP colleagues who will be on site to support with the go-live itself.
The move to the system is hoped to help the trust to improve its digital maturity score, with its 2025 score of 2.3 out of 5 thought to be “significantly improved” following the deployment of the Epic EPR system, and expected to be realised in the 2027 Digital Maturity Assessment.
Additional information is made available for patients and staff via a dedicated webpage, explaining what the EPR will include, and introducing the My Care patient portal. Once the system goes live in July, functionality available from the portal will include test results, a calendar with details of upcoming appointments, information on recent appointments, health questionnaires, direct messaging to care teams, and proxy access, it highlights.
“From 3 April 2026, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust will commence processing acute and community healthcare services data using the Devon EPR shared system,” UHP states. “University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust is scheduled to integrate with this shared record in July 2026, facilitating comprehensive management and secure access to patent records across all three Trusts within a collaborative environment.”
Wider trend: EPR
With the help of a panel of experts from across the health sector, HTN recently took a deep dive into EPRs, looking at approaches to implementation, lessons learned, challenges, and future directions. Panellists included Ian Mackenzie, CIO at Surrey and Borders Partnership; Ciara Moore, EPR operations director at Bath, Salisbury and Great Western Group; Keltie Jamieson, CIO at Bermuda Hospitals Board; and Michael Hardman, practice lead for software development at Aire Logic.
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.”
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.
