Norfolk and Waveney University Hospitals Group has forecasted an £11.4 million EPR overspend, noting an EPR review is in progress with “potentially significant” implications for programmes in 2026/27 and 2027/28.
The overspend relates to Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Trust and James Paget University Hospitals Trust, at £10.2 million and £1.2 million respectively against the original plan, the group reports. An update from the current EPR programme review is expected in Q2, with the board highlighting that inability to secure additional funding “may lead to potential cash pressures, capital department expenditure limit breach or even failure to complete the programme”.
The board also notes its group perinatal EPR project, outlining the impact of the lack of digital EPR maturity on the service, with an alternative electronic data capture system introduced as an “interim measure” until the launch of Meditech. A digital midwifery matron has been recruited to focus specifically on the Meditech build, with regular monthly progress meetings with the group director of midwifery and EPR team, and monthly engagement events with perinatal leadership.
So far, antenatal booking has been rebuilt based on feedback from director and heads of midwifery, and appointment scheduling, antenatal schedule of appointments, and the first version build of antenatal risk assessments have been completed. Digital champions have further been put in place by the EPR team across obstetrics, maternity, and neonates. Next steps for Q2 include exploring patient portal functionality to support self-referral, and commencing linking policies to the EPR system, the group indicates.
Work has also reportedly begun on the development of a shared strategic direction for the group, with the board stating: “The emerging direction is clear: more care to be delivered through neighbourhood and digitally enabled models, with hospitals increasingly focused on complex, specialist and acute care that require hospital facilities and expertise. This will require closer partnership working across providers and a more integrated group approach to clinical services, workforce, digital and infrastructure planning.” The final strategy and future operating model are to be developed over the coming months.
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. In a LinkedIn post, senior information officer for nursing, midwifery, and AHPs – EPR Katy Griffiths shared details of a leadership go-live preparation event, covering training, BCA, and command centres, supported by colleagues from Torbay and South Devon.
Humber Health Partnership, comprised of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust and Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, 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. according to the board, phase 1 is scheduled for completion in April 2027, with hopes to begin realising benefits in June 2027, and phase 2 to be completed by June 2028.
Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has utilised a virtual work in ITU, improved discharge summaries, optimised its EPR and refreshed core infrastructure, its board discussed this month. The trust highlighted ambitions to identify and digitise paper-based processes, to make the best use of existing digital solutions, and to identify new tech or suppliers that can help transform services. It notes progress with short and medium-term planning for digital investment, including reinvestment in RPA in ITU services and the procurement of AVT in outpatients and ED. Improvements to core EPRs have enabled better patient discharge workflows, including the introduction of the Manchester triage workflow, and the roll out of a mobile working solution for community staff, the trust adds.
