Wondering what the EPR means for you, your team or your patients?
These are the questions staff are asking us most often. We will continue to add to these questions in the coming months. Use the search box or scroll down to see the most common questions and answers. If your question isn’t answered here, then get in touch.
NWEPR brings together up-to-date clinical information in one place and includes safety features such as alerts for allergies, adverse drug reactions, deterioration and other patient risks, supporting decision making.
Many paper forms and processes will be replaced by digital records, although some paper documents may still be needed during the transition.
Instead of switching between multiple systems or waiting for notes, you'll have one place to record and find patient information. Observations, assessments, care plans, medications, referrals and results will be available in real time to the teams involved in a patient’s care.
There will be a learning curve while everyone becomes familiar with the system, so new ways of working may feel slower at first. However, NWEPR is designed to reduce duplication, not add to it. Recording information once, in one place, should make processes smoother and support safer care over time.
Refreshers and reference material stay available. You'll have "how to" and quick reference guides plus an FAQ on the trust intranet, e-learning you can repeat, and ongoing peer support from Super Users in your area. The system doesn't stop being supported once formal training ends.
You won't be left without it. Training carries on after go-live to catch anyone who couldn't attend beforehand and to cover new starters. If you miss a session, speak to your manager or the training team and they'll get you booked onto a later one.
Yes. The trusts will make sure staff with additional needs can take part fully and benefit from training. If you have specific requirements, raise them with your manager or the training team early so arrangements are in place.
A super user is a colleague from your own area who gets extra training and helps the rest of the team during and after go-live. Because they know both the system and your day-to-day work, they can answer questions and feed common issues back to the programme. Some may get extra permissions to help sort access problems on the spot.
For the first few weeks of the EPR, you'll have super users from your own area, plus floorwalkers giving hands-on help where you work. Behind them sit the EPR change team, subject matter experts and supplier support. You'll also have quick reference guides, "how to" guides and a FAQ. The aim is help at your elbow, not a ticket in a queue.
You won't have to work it out yourself. The training team publishes the courses and tells line managers who needs to attend, and your manager will help you get booked on. Your attendance is tracked against the list for your role, so nobody gets missed.
You’ll be supported. Before EPR training, staff complete a short basic IT skills check. If it shows you'd benefit from some groundwork first, your line manager will arrange basic IT training so you're ready to get the most from the EPR sessions. The check covers tablets and mobile devices too, where those apply to your role.
Most courses end with a competency check, so you and the trust can be confident you're ready to use the system safely. The training is there to get you to that standard.