East Cheshire shares five aims for 2026 and beyond following EPR rollout

East Cheshire NHS Trust has outlined five aims for 2026 and beyond following the “smoother than anticipated” go-live of its Meditech EPR in June of last year. The joint go-live with Mid Cheshire NHS Foundation Trust introduced phase one functionality including emergency department, patient administration system, theatres, inpatient and outpatient clinical documentation, and radiology requesting. Inpatient electronic prescribing and medicines administration followed shortly after.

East Cheshire plans to complete the further digitisation of paper documentation across its inpatients, outpatients, and ED departments. “The focus is on high priority documents,” it states, “a top 50 have been agreed for delivery for June 2026 with available resources.” Work is also underway to optimise existing live referrals and extend the rollout of internal referral orders for other specialties, the trust notes, with a focus again on high priority referrals that can be delivered by June 2026. Other projects will continue beyond 2026, including further rollout of order comms to include full integration of pathology results and requests. EPMA functionality is also to be extended to include high priority drug charts and IV fluids.

University Hospitals of Liverpool Group seeks feedback on vision for future of care informed by population health data

University Hospitals of Liverpool Group is seeking feedback on its five-year strategy developed using population health data – “a once in a generation opportunity to make bold changes and transform patient care for the future”. As well as focuses on partnerships, research and innovation, and attracting and retaining “the brightest and best people” to drive care, the strategy sets out a series of plans for digital and data. The cornerstone of these plans will be the procurement of a single EPR, the group states, along with the development of a shared digital infrastructure with simplified digital systems and reduced logins.

Joint Digital and Data Strategy from Greater Manchester Mental Health and Pennine Care represents “significant shift”

Greater Manchester Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust and Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust have published a joint Digital and Data Strategy for 2026 – 2031, aiming to transform the model for mental health, learning disabilities and autism, and to introduce a new operating model underpinned by digital and data. The procurement and implementation of a new EPR is “essential” in achieving digital maturity and underpinning strategic priorities, according to the trusts, with both current EPR contracts due to expire in 2028 with the potential to extend to 2030. A joint EPR transformation programme has been established across both organisations, with recruitment having commenced into a central transformation team, and an EPR strategic outline case due to be published in early 2026 in preparation for outlined and full business cases in 2026/27. Design and build is set to take place from February 2027, and deployment is estimated to begin in February 2029.

On data, GMMH and Pennine Care share ambitions to move to a cloud-based platform to unlock opportunities for analytics and AI, develop a clinical outcomes data service to support the research agenda, and establish population health analytics for mental health that can be used to inform clinical services at neighbourhood level. Data will be structured using open standards such as FHIR to support interoperability with other providers, a suite of dashboards will allow users to self-serve, and data will be shared safely with other agencies. An emerging technologies governance framework will be developed alongside defined processes for risk assessment, clinical safety, cyber, and ethics prior to trialling new tech, according to GMMH and Pennine Care. An AI assurance function will be launched to ensure model explainability, bias testing, monitoring, and retirement planning are built into adoption pathways; and a clinically led prioritisation process will be defined to promote high-value use cases, reduce variation, and support complex decision-making. 

Progress on single EPR, centralised EDMS, digital infrastructure at Northern Care Alliance

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust is working towards a new EPR and a centralised EDMS, as well as focusing on digital for pathway redesign. NCA reports being “hindered by its low level of digital maturity”, with the lack of a common EPR specifically pinned as a factor. This will be resolved in the coming years, working with frontline clinical staff to select and implement a new system, it promises. The lack of digital maturity is also said to be impacting on opportunities for the trust to take advantage of AI: “The full use and leveraging of artificial intelligence remains a distance away for the NCA given our need to stabilise our foundations, and yet we are already supporting programmes and initiatives that step us into the AI space.”

Mersey and West Lancashire outlines priorities, EPR procurement, AI, automation

Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has outlined progress to date on the trust’s digital strategy, and priorities for 2026 including a collaborative EPR procurement, EPR readiness, AI, and automation. The trust’s digital strategy was published in March 2024, following the merger of St Helens and Knowsley and Southport and Ormskirk trusts. The separate infrastructure made cross-site working “very difficult”, according to MWL, and as such the digital strategy focused strongly on technical consolidation and solution convergence. Good progress has been made around digital systems, infrastructure, and interoperability since this time, with the trust reporting that thanks to capital investment, “much of the digital foundation has now been completed”, enabling staff to work across any trust sites.

The trust’s wider focus is shifting to designing “at scale” digital and data architecture, platforms, tools, and services such as shared care records and a neighbourhood health platform, in order to meet the requirements outlined in the NHS Medium Term Planning Framework. High priority use cases for shared care record rollout will be identified, the federated data platform will be used to deliver further “at scale” tools and services to support population health management, and Agentic AI will be piloted in elective care to automate waiting list management.

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. To date, achievements include the introduction of real-time safety dashboards and Power BI dashboards for performance monitoring, the rollout of SMART notice boards and a test of concept for a SMART station and SMART vehicles programme, and the launch of enhanced digital systems for EPR to enable measurement of safety and effectiveness.

Moving forward, 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. 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.

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership publishes digital aims in medium term planning with focus on EPR, neighbourhoods, and AVT

Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has published its medium term plan, outlining ambitions for the next five years. In year one for specialist mental health, it looks to the Crisis Care Coordination tool for digital triage, advice, and scheduling; to implement full NHS App mental health capabilities; and to test solutions for improved discharge flow and reduced delays. Years two to five will then focus on roll-out and full utilisation of digital assessment tooling, patient portal development (year two) and go-live (year three), the adoption of all NHS App capabilities, and inpatient and discharge digitalisation with an identified system go-live across inpatient services.

For neighbourhoods, the trust anticipates rolling out point of care testing equipment across community teams, completing Accurx and EPR platform integration, and developing electronic prescribing in year one. For years two to five, this extends to full EPR integration across community services, expanded remote monitoring and digital health interventions, predictive analytics for demand management, and AI-enabled care coordination and predictive modelling. Transformation and delivery plans for children, young people, and families across the five years include data quality improvement planning, increased digital access, digital peer support, and the rollout of ambient voice technology.

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust sets out digital delivery goals and priorities for 2026/27

Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust has set out its digital delivery goals and priorities. For 2026/27, actions to be delivered include partnering with university colleagues for research on emerging digital technologies and evaluations of digital innovation, to increase expertise and evidence on their impact. Lancashire and South Cumbria will also be scaling its approach to interoperability, enabling integrated system data and digital referrals, implementing EMIS into physical health services, implementing electronic prescriptions, building outcome measurement and tracking in EPR, and working on clinical coding. This work is hoped to promote availability of data, improve the reliability of referrals, reduce harm and the number of incidents reported, and improve the measurement of outcomes and compliance. Scaling the use of Robotic Process Automation, Copilot, and ambient voice technologies is also an aim, the trust continues, whilst maturing the use of data analytics to support its health inequalities plan will enable data to be used to drive decisions and improvement work.

The Christie shares latest on Future Christie programmes and progress toward new EPR

The Christie NHS Foundation Trust has shared the latest on its Future Christie programmes and work to procure a new EPR. 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.”

Roadmap to sustainability outlines three-year digital plans at Bolton NHS Foundation Trust

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust has outlined a series of digital plans covering the next three years as part of its sustainability ambitions. Year one focuses include implementing digital pathology, automation, and end-to-end connectivity in diagnostics; device rationalisation; the digitisation of health records; and the renegotiation of digital contracts. 

Years two and three will move on to adopting AI enabled pathology and radiology workflows and scaling digital pathology, the trust shares. A full digital records strategy is expected to be delivered, and an EDMS is to be procured. The Single Patient Record will be implemented across all care settings, Robotic Process Automation will be scaled for high-volume tasks, and AI scribes, digital triage, and automation will help reduce administrative burden. 

Updates on digital enabling strategy at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals

The board of Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has offered an update on the organisation’s digital enabling strategy, highlighting the role of digital capabilities such as AI, integrated data systems, and patient-facing technologies in redesigning services. For patients, the trust’s priorities include digital access, online appointment management, and greater access to health information. Remote monitoring and virtual care will bring care closer to home, it states, and data and analytics will be used to reduce inefficiencies and streamline processes, including system-wide integration of diagnostics, electronic prescribing, and shared care records. 

For the workforce, the trust commits to investing in digital skills and training, in user-friendly systems, and in automation to reduce administrative burdens and improve staff experience. “Through partnerships, particularly the “One LSC” collaborative approach, the Trust will standardise systems, share infrastructure and data, and strengthen integration across health and care organisations,” the board shares.

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust highlights digital plans, data, and digital integration

Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has highlighted a series of recent digital developments and plans, including next steps on the deployment of a major upgrade to its Digital Clinical System. Over the next few months, work will continue to reduce reliance on paper and make the sharing of clinical information easier, it states, with the next wave of 50 digital documents to be introduced by the end of June, and the continued rollout of digital discharge letters. By 2030, the trust hopes to realise over £15 million in quantified benefits from EPR and automation, with its digital front door and command centre to be operational by 2032, and with intelligent hospital capability at over 75 percent by 2036. 

Clatterbridge Cancer Centre’s Implementation Report notes progress on “Be Digital” aims

The Clatterbridge Cancer Centre has published an Implementation Report detailing progress around aims including “Be Digital” ambitions. In it, the trust highlights ongoing work with the University Hospitals of Liverpool Group on a city-wide EPR, the successful go-live of a pharmacy stock control system, and a work stream for Systemic Anti-Cancer Therapy EPMA. An electronic referrals portal is now live and processing more than half of incoming referrals, it continues, lab test results are now received electronically into EPR, and clinical systems optimisation has seen more than 70 care plans and 230 linked interventions deactivated to improve efficiency in information sharing and “reduced document fatigue”. 

Also of note is an ongoing 12 month ambient voice pilot which will see the technology rolled out to 200 clinical staff across the trust. A new staff-facing Copilot intranet page is in use to support colleagues in utilising the software safely, an AI solution is now implemented for clinical coding, and following collaborative work with the Federated Data Platform team, the Cancer 360 tool has reportedly been upgraded and rolled out nationally. 

The Walton Centre highlights upcoming EPR procurement, digital transformation plans, and more

In its most recent meeting, the board of The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust highlighted upcoming digital plans including EPR, with work reportedly underway on the first stages of  business case development. “Good progress” has been made, the trust states, across its transformation programme, with the Patient Pass referral system live in four specialties and delivering “wide-ranging improvements”; and robotic process automation piloted in finance before being extended to HR. 

Joint digital plans for Wirral Community and Wirral University Teaching Hospital trusts outline new digital strategy 

The joint digital committee for Wirral Community Health and Care Foundation Trust and Wirral University Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has shared that following the completion of the 2021-26 digital strategy period, a new joint strategy is in the works with ambitions to publish in the second half of 2026. Risk appetites have also been updated from “open” to “seek” to reflect the role digital transformation should play across the organisation, as well as an increasing appetite for innovation, it shares.