Dorset EHR implementation, primary care integration, and ambitions for remote outpatient appointments

Dorset County Hospital and Dorset HealthCare have updated on digital progress and priorities for 2026/27. “Good progress” is being made on EHR implementation, with the trusts citing strong recruitment and alignment of system workstreams. Primary care integration is reportedly underway, and overall delivery is rated “on track”. Work is continuing on the trust’s target operating model and leadership structure, and the board offered assurance on improvements to system capability and infrastructure, plans to enhance access and user experience, and legacy issues.

More is being done collaboratively across Dorset, the board continues, with examples including the Dorset/Somerset Epic contract for Healthset EHR, and the Optika project with the Federated Data Platform to improve transfers of care. The One Transformation Approach continues to provide a framework for delivering large-scale transformation, it highlights, “recognising that many of the Federation’s most significant challenges require integrated solutions”. The trusts also list key achievements including a reduced reliance on paper records, and 20 percent of outpatient appointments being delivered remotely.

Royal Cornwall Hospitals delays EPR go-live as “necessary and appropriate assurance action” 

Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has delayed the planned June go-live of its eCare EPR, describing the decision as a “necessary and appropriate assurance action”. The decision was taken following a 60-day review of clinical, operational, and technical readiness, the board shares, highlighting that despite substantial progress, it had not been sufficiently assured that a June go-live would consistently support safe patient care and service continuity across all areas. Additional time will now be taken to complete further clinical and operational assurance, the trust states, as well as to strengthen end-to-end pathways, improve safety controls, increase staff readiness and confidence, and “reduce systemwide risk at go-live and during early stabilisation”. Plans to reduce the eCare workforce from 155 to 30 in September 2026 will also need to be revised, the trust outlines.

Coding staff continue to work on testing, training, and system readiness, with coding under eCare expected to take 30 percent longer, RCHT shares. Work is also continuing on implementing new data transformation software and on data-mapping, migration, and build issues. “RADAR Data Warehouse development is progressing but still uncovering numerous data and workflow issues during testing. Critical gaps—including diagnostics, PIFU, delay codes and ECDS v4.0—pose a material risk to mandatory reporting, with NHSE able to prevent go-live if requirements are not met,” it adds.

Adrian Harris, chief medical officer, digital and research, shares five-year digital journey at Royal Devon University Healthcare 

HTN caught up with Adrian Harris, chief medical officer, digital and research, at Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, to find out more about the trust’s recently published five-year digital journey. Reflecting on Royal Devon’s digital journey from 2020 – 2025, Adrian reported having witnessed “enormous” progress around digital maturity, driven particularly by the trust’s adoption of Epic in 2020 during COVID. “Prior to that, we had one of the oldest PAS systems in the UK, and in general really disparate systems with poor integration,” he explained. “We implemented Epic at our East Devon sites in October 2020, and have since implemented at our North Devon sites, including North Devon District Hospital in Barnstaple, which is probably the most remote district general in the country.”

Adrian also talked about his role as SRO for the OneDevon EPR programme, noting the same instance of Epic is due to go live in Torbay at the beginning of April and at University Hospitals Plymouth in late July. “By August, the whole of Devon, all 1.3 million people, will be on a truly horizontally-integrated single instance of an integrated EPR,” he advised, “so if we think about where we were in 2019 with our myriad of systems that didn’t talk to each other, multiple logins, no patient access; it’s a massive step change.”

The trust is also doing some work around AI, including the use of LLMs and ambient voice technology, and with Agentic AI being used for note summarisation and discharge summarisation, according to Adrian. “We’re doing stuff with geolocation to ensure our community staff take the most efficient route between cases; we’re working on DNA prediction; and we were the first hospital trust to integrate AVT into an EPR in the UK.”

Royal United Hospitals Bath on progress ahead of planned October 2027 EPR go-live 

Royal United Hospitals Bath NHS FT has updated on EPR readiness ahead of a planned EPR go-live date of October 2027. The update follows on from Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB’s digital strategy to 2029, which outlined ambitions for a “first in type tri-trust integrated EPR” across Royal United Hospitals Bath, Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, and Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust. Progress has been observed around core governance structures, leadership frameworks, enabling infrastructure, training, device audits, and initial transformation arrangements, according to the board. Work is ongoing to develop role-based training, define system profiles, and establish cross-organisational groups to support policies, procedures, and super users. “Readiness tracking across key domains indicates mixed progress,” the board notes. “Some areas such as applications, workflows, and testing are progressing or planned, while others including ESR readiness, communications, and go-live preparation are at an early or not yet started stage.”

A group overview of progress toward readiness is largely consistent, with key domains reported as off track covering inconsistent change processes, an outstanding clinical safety case, limited engagement, delays with integration and data migration, and the absence of an aligned plan. Overall organisational readiness is rated at 32 percent, or amber/red. By the end of August 2026, the group hopes to have successfully exited system testing, completed configuration changes required for integration testing, and to have organisational readiness activities on track with “critical activity planning and validation resources secured”. It points to active management of key risks in order to maintain delivery momentum, adding: “Resourcing and capacity constraint remains the most significant delivery challenge in this period.”

Somerset NHS Foundation Trust discusses EHR, ambient voice, electronic prescribing plans

The Somerset NHS Foundation Trust board in its latest meeting has shared that EHR procurement has been completed, with roll out planned for 2028. Progress is also highlighted around medicines management, with the board describing this as “strengthened” via investment in workforce, infrastructure, and digital developments. One such development has been in the roll out of EPMA and plans for electronic outpatient prescribing. Last year, in a separate update, the board highlighted its successful EPMA rollout and evidence of early impact, including “clear, accessible information” for patients and staff, clinical decision support, and the automation of “many tasks that were traditionally done on paper”. It also offers the ability for information to be shared or transferred between systems, and generates an audit log detailing each step in the process, the trust stated.

On ambient voice utilisation, the trust highlights neurology, ENT, T&O and gynaecology clinics are using this technology and notes progress supporting improved service delivery. The trust’s priorities for 2026 focus on reducing long waits and improving access across elective care, transforming urgent and emergency care with the expansion of same-day emergency care and virtual wards, and accelerating the adoption of digital solutions such as the Federated Data Platform and unified electronic patient records.

Bristol NHS Group outlines plans for “reimagined” digitally-enabled care, modernised infrastructure, and remote services in group clinical strategy

Bristol NHS Group, a partnership between North Bristol and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston, has published a Group Clinical Strategy update, focusing on delivering joined-up clinical services, reframing how services are delivered, and reimagining the future of care. The first priority for single leadership teams within group clinical services is setting out a clear picture of what challenges they face across digital, workforce, finance, and estates, the group notes, and enabling strategies such as for digital services, are in development to offer the foundation for long-term progress.

Plans include shifting care toward prevention and early intervention, making services more accessible, and expanding remote and digitally-enabled care. Routine face-to-face outpatient appointments will be reduced, and follow-up appointments will be delivered remotely. “We are keen to share the work of some of our clinical teams in Cardiology, Rheumatology, Dermatology and Pain, who have provided ways for patients to interact with their service remotely, on demand or in group settings,” the group notes. “We are asking leadership teams in clinical services to explore every opportunity to provide outpatient and diagnostic services remotely, using technology and out of hospital settings.”

University Hospitals Plymouth July EPR go-live, digital inclusion focus, 182k virtual outpatient appointments

University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has published its quality account for 2025/26. “Significant progress” has been made over 2025/26 in delivering the trust’s digital programme in support of safer, more efficient, and more integrated care, it states, with the formal award of an EPR contract to Epic as part of the One Devon EPR programme. The implementation phase remains ongoing, it continues, with a planned go-live scheduled for July 2026 following a successful go-live at Torbay Hospital in April. A number of “EPR-enabling” digital improvements, according to the trust, such as the SafeTrace system in pathology, Windows 11 upgrades, the deployment of Nervecentre in same day emergency care, and the optimisation of voice recognition technology, are noted. 

The trust has led on the roll out of electronic treatment escalation plan (eTEP) across Devon, making treatment escalation plans digitally accessible and visible across care settings. Housed on the Devon and Cornwall Care Record with plans to be a “key link” with the One Devon EPR solution once live, it is hoped to ensure safer decision-making and to reduce delays in the escalation/deescalation process. Next steps will cover the inclusion of Cornwall.

In other updates, University Hospitals Plymouth shares that community teams now have shared access to digital records via SystmOne, and that Doccla has been introduced into the virtual ward model to support remote monitoring and digitally-enabled care. This is hoped to help identify deterioration earlier and improve clinician’s ability to access real-time patient information. Over 182,500 virtual outpatient appointments were also held in the 2025/26 period, representing 24 percent of total outpatient activity, with the trust stating that this places them in the highest quartile nationally.

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership sets out five-year plan for digital, future EPR, and ambient AI

Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust’s latest five-year digital strategy has celebrated improvements since 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. 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. A tool is currently being piloted that integrates with Rio EPR to capture clinical notes within the patient record.

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 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.

Progress toward EPR go-live and digital strategy delivery from University Hospitals Dorset

The board of University Hospitals Dorset has shared a series of updates around its HealthSet EPR programme and wider digital priorities. With a contract signed in March 2026 with Epic, the HealthSet programme is now underway, with core implementation activity reportedly to begin in late summer 2026, and a “big bang” go-live scheduled for April 2028. Workforce planning and resourcing is progressing, the trust states, and a programme partnership board has been established to offer governance and oversight. 

Publishing its Integrated Delivery Plan to 2031, the trust also highlights plans to focus on improving patient access, and clinical and administrative productivity through redesigned clinical pathways, digital innovation, and proactive patient engagement through 2026/27. On outpatients, ambitions include empowering patients to actively manage their health use digital tools such as virtual consultations, patient portals, and remote monitoring; and reducing unnecessary face-to-face attendances where digital alternatives are “clinically appropriate”.

Digital plans and priorities from South Western Ambulance Service 

South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust has published its latest trust strategy and annual plan update, highlighting success in strengthening the foundations required for future delivery. Key programmes have moved from planning to delivery over the last 12 months, it shares, with improved IT resilience, data, and insight, and the groundwork in place for “major transformation” like a new computer aided dispatch system. 

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust highlights future EPR opportunity and challenges in overcoming “digital immaturity” 

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust has highlighted future plans for EPR and challenges around increasing digital maturity in its latest board papers. Achievements over the last 12 months have included several digital infrastructure upgrades, and improvements in digital literacy and inclusion, it continues. Moving forward, the trust is looking to move to a single digital function across BSW Hospitals Group, with convergence of infrastructure and tech as critical enablers. While the digital plan sets out a “significant agenda” to improve integration of systems, maximise existing EPR, and work toward a “more sustainable” longer-term joint approach across the ICS; there is insufficient capacity and funding to deliver on all that is asked, it shares. There remains a “large agenda” of projects with a digital component that are not resourced or prioritised, and a lack of funding to deliver the full digital plan, including removing unsupported technologies.