A new operating model for digital has been outlined by the board of Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, along with plans to move to a single group-wide EPR, and to align with the London Secure Data Environment to support population health research.
The new model will be agile and user-centred, the trust notes, with a digital governance framework currently being redesigned to include digital strategic priorities and KPIs with alignment to clinical strategy. “As part of the op model process, we will implement an enterprise architecture function that will allow us to refresh and implement digital standards for tech, data and design to support our shift from analogue to digital, operational resilience and data intelligence ambitions,” RFL states.
Staff consultation will take place during June and July 2026, with full implementation of the restructure to be complete by Autumn 2026. A strategic plan for infrastructure will inform planned programmes and funding to support, looking to maximise on the benefits of the merger and increase operational resilience. A patient systems and experience strategic plan is also in development, to include the single EPR roadmap, focusing on merger benefits, maximising the use of current tools and systems, and the potential for contract consolidation.
Changes are being made to the trust’s digital demand process, with a single front door to be established, and a user-centred approach to triaging and managing requests, in the hopes of identifying risk earlier and creating “clearer visibility of ownership, priority and impact across all digital demand”. An outline business case is being drafted to support plans for the single group-wide EPR, with conversations ongoing around procurement.
Looking ahead, the trust records ambitions to rely on digital tools and systems to help make services more joined-up for patients, to focus on cyber safety and a holistic approach to risk mitigation, to better use data to improve health outcomes, and to deliver on digital merger plans to increase operational efficiency and service continuity through “safe, secure and reliable technology infrastructure”.
The potential of emerging tech and AI will be harnessed for innovation and future-proofing, RFL continues, via new strategic partnerships across the health tech sector. Technical readiness work is underway for the trial of ambient voice technology in a number of different clinical settings, and a range of AI or productivity use cases are in progress, including Copilot use for corporate note taking and the drafting of responses to complaints.
Plans are to develop a people plan to outline future workforce requirements and address “dependence on contractors”, with a business case for conversion to WTE. “This will be underpinned by the creation of digital Communities of Practice model to upskill staff and make RFL an NHS digital centre of excellence,” it states. “We will also produce digital skills development plan for SMEs and trust wide staff which will support the workforce to deliver better care by removing friction and unlocking digital opportunities for colleagues and patients.”
Wider trend: Single EPR
Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB’s latest digital strategy to 2029 has been published, based on five strategic themes. On its “first in type tri-trust integrated EPR”, the ICB focuses on creating a single, shared digital platform across three acute trusts, replacing fragmented systems with an integrated solution. According to BSW, the programme also aims to standardise workflows and clinical templates to streamline processes and improve efficiencies. Other plans include the embedding of a cloud-first strategy across ICB and GP sites, a focus on sustainable IT procurement, and work on device rationalisation.
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. 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.
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. Progress on the single EPR has been “far slower than expected”, according to NCA, with changes to NHS England digital funding routes and NCA deficit making it challenging to progress beyond the outline business case. “Work to identify capital funding continues in support of the programme and an updated OBC is due to be presented to the board during this financial year,” it updates. “The team are working with community colleagues to set out a clear strategy for a community EPR which remains a gap in our strategic plans.”
