Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust has highlighted a “pressing requirement for a maternity EPR”, following the publication of the Amos report earlier this year.
Investment for the new system would be on top of £5.5 million already spent in the department over the last two years, the trust shares, which has helped make improvements including additional midwives, doctors, and support staff in maternity triage; and 24 hour flow coordinators.
Work is also underway on the ten-point plan of urgent actions set out by NHS England following the Amos investigation and the Ockenden maternity review, BHRUT assures, to check requirements are met for the service.
The trust also notes that recovery is ongoing following “adverse impact” on performance resulting from the introduction of its trust EPR, with the total number of residents on the waiting list in July being the lowest since EPR launch. More is to be done to achieve the challenge set by NHS England for 77 percent of patients to be waiting no longer than 18 weeks from referral to treatment, it continues, with July’s figures sitting around 69 percent.
Additional funding from North East London ICB to reduce waiting times, and from the North East London Cancer Alliance has been received to improve cancer pathways and ensure diagnosis and treatment are received quickly, according to BHRUT.
In terms of finance, the trust highlights that whilst original plans were to return a deficit of £41.3 million at the end of the 2026/27 financial year, it is to receive £39.2 million in one-off NHSE funding, and a further £2.1 million from North East London ICB. “To return to break even by the beginning of April 2027, we must play our part and deliver £51.9m of savings,” it adds.
Almost £9 million of savings have been produced so far as a result of initiatives taking place across the organisation, BHRUT reports, and an online portal is to be launched to enable colleagues to put forward their ideas for reducing costs. Temporary staff bookings and the use of agency or bank staff will be reduced where safe to do so to help with savings.
BHRUT also highlights that progress is continuing around the recruitment of a CDIO with ongoing responsibility for maximising the value from the trust’s EPR, promoting digital improvements, and delivering on the analogue to digital requirements from the 10 Year Plan.
Wider trend: EPR
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust has progressed its EPR programme, moving to “full mobilisation” following confirmation from NHS England. The trust board reported delivering a full business case to NHS England for its SystmOne EPR, with implementation plans “well underway”. At that time, it shared that six Listening into Action teams had been assembled to direct the design and configuration work required to tailor the system to meet trust needs, and that good progress was being made on staff training and the migration of data from Lorenzo. The development of EPR super users is a priority for Q1 2026/27, and go-live is hoped to take place in 2027, it added.
North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust is planning an upcoming procurement for a unified CAD and EPR platform, with a total estimated value of £19.3 million. The trust has issued a market notice ahead of a planned February 2027 tender, indicating requirements for the platform around minimising duplication, improving clinical safety, and ensuring real-time information flow between control room operations and care settings.
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”.
