The board of Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has shared “significant progress on strengthening its cyber posture and infrastructure resilience”, noting work to explore future EPR options, AI-enabled transformation, and data-driven improvement.
On cyber security, the trust highlights the reduction of unsupported operating systems, along with clearly mapping risks to board level risk entries. A status of “standards exceeded” has been achieved in the latest DSPT report, it notes, with positive assurance from a recent internal audit. Continued progress will be dependent on the continued prioritisation of investment in core cyber capabilities, the board considers. A business case is to be developed for the use of an external provider to extend out-of-hours coverage, and a review is to be undertaken of certain cyber risk scores to “ensure consistent application of likelihood and consequence in line with the trust’s agreed risk-scoring methodology”.
An external consultancy review of future EPR options has seen engagement with stakeholders, market analysis, regional engagement with neighbouring trusts, and initial cost benchmarking, according to the board. Next steps include detailed costings and the development of a recommended way forward, along with potential benefits realisation to inform longer-term decision making. “In particular, it should help us understand whether solutions with apparently higher capital and/or revenue costs could be justified, even in the current financial climate, once the scale and breadth of the potential benefits are better understood,” the board adds.
A HIMSS assessment in 2027 is suggested to assess maturity following the roll out of key digital initiatives over the next 12 months. Work is ongoing on a digital front door and patient engagement platform, with the trust reporting that non-integrated functionality is already live, and EMPI-related integration dependencies are being addressed.
Preparation is also said to be underway for both data-driven improvement and AI-enabled transformation workstreams, including workforce training and the development of governance for safe AI use, and work to move from a hosted to an on-premises environment almost completed.
Key actions completed in preparation for future single patient record requirements have seen advancements in the digitisation of patient records and care plans, the board advises, as well as strengthened interoperability across clinical systems, improvements in information sharing with partners, enhancements to structured clinical data capture and analytics, and the consideration of future EPR capabilities.
Wider trend: EPR
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust has gone live with its electronic patient record, joining Torbay and South Devon and Royal Devon, to form a shared digital record across Devon. The go-live required a “superhuman effort”, according to chief exec Neil Macdonald, with more than 700 superusers being trained to help support their colleagues with the transition. The trust also noted an update on early functionality and an issue causing duplicate pathology results to be sent from its laboratories, creating “significant additional work” for GP practices. The trust issued a statement on an identified issue following the go live, indicating that the cause was a “message processing problem between systems” that is being worked on by tech teams and suppliers.
Humber Health Partnership has updated on a number of key digital programmes and priorities, noting the digitisation of mental capacity assessments, the use of VR in specialist rehabilitation, medication safety, and EPR progress. Digital Mental Capacity Act assessments, best interest decision records, and deprivation of liberty safeguards forms have been developed and introduced, according to the group, replacing paper-based processes. These were piloted on selected wards to test usability and check they met with legal requirements prior to wider roll out, which took place in November 2025. Early audit evidence has since shown a “clear increase” in completed mental capacity and best interest records, the group reports, and improvements in clarity and completeness have made it easier for staff to demonstrate the lawfulness and patient-centred nature of decisions.
Mid and South Essex (MSE) ICB’s annual report has highlighted uses of digital across the system, including the expansion of the shared care record, progress on the unified EPR programme, and the use of digital tools to support integrated neighbourhood teams. Strong progress on the ICB’s Nova unified EPR includes the completion of planning, design, and localisation activity to support clinical and operational staff in shaping workflows and system configuration. A series of design sessions and clinical showcases have helped develop programme workforce capability, the ICB shares, and 87 percent of acute functionality build and design has been completed, with community and mental health functionality being developed.
