EPR Programme Kick-off Meeting Takes Place
On Friday 28 April, over 50 people from the three acute hospital Electronic Patient Record (EPR) Programme met face to face at a kick-off meeting at conference centre, The Space, in Norwich, with another 20 joining remotely online. Marking the start of this long-awaited programme, the meeting was the first opportunity for many of the wider EPR team members to meet.
Opening the meeting, our three Chief Clinical Information Officers (CCIOs) Ed Prosser-Snelling (NNUH), Lisa Cooke (QEH) and Reet Johal (JPUH) discussed what the EPR will mean for our staff and patients. Working on tables, delegates talked about EPR features and the benefits they bring; on reflection the consensus was that the EPR will provide better joined-up care by providing structured clinical data.
EPR Programme Director, Martin Evans, presented an overview of the EPR Programme and the journey to go-live. It’s no secret that Norfolk and Waveney have been trying to get an EPR for our acute hospitals for some time and Martin outlined some of the key issues we have faced in working towards that goal. However, as part of the governments ambition to improve the digital footprint of the country’s health and care system, Norfolk and Waveney’s EPR plans are progressing at speed and with full national support.
Sharing a timeline of the programme, Martin explained we are currently in the procurement process of securing a supplier for our EPR with us hoping to confirm contracts later this year.
We are in a great position within Norfolk and Waveney for our EPR Programme and as Martin highlighted “this is a once in a career opportunity” for us to do this well and deliver the EPR our patients and staff need.
Looking ahead to go-live and what we can expect in the years to come, Martin, who has overseen the implementation of several EPRs, explained to start with, the first couple of years will consist of bedding in and building strong foundations of universal processes as all three acutes use the EPR. As the programme and system matures, we will look to the EPR to drive improvements and research opportunities which in turn enable more collaboration and introduce improved clinical pathways.
The next part of the meeting was a Q&A session with clinical staff who have lived experiences of EPR or Clinical Systems implementations and the sharing of their knowledge and advice.
Sarah Fleming, Director of Urgent Care at QEH noted that the EPR will not simply a digital replication of paper-based note taking, and that staff must embrace a whole new way of capturing and recording data and information.
Emily Wells, Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) for NNUH said that in her experience, it’s always helpful to remember the vision of what the EPR is going to do and to have conversations around transformation from the start, as improving digital literacy and completing organisational readiness activities are crucial to bring everyone on the journey.
Pieter Bothma, Consultant Anaesthetist at JPUH reflected back on his struggles with reading handwritten notes before a digital system was introduced for his clinical specialty, yet the ironic challenge he faced himself was learning to type clinical notes – openly admitting he had to learn very fast how to use the computer but now has the ability to even dictate notes to help speed up his process.
Many topics were discussed including business contingency plans and what they looked like, clinical and technical issues, and staff engagement.
One of the most common answers to all questions however was the importance of communication and relationship building. Several speakers shared their experiences of EPR implementations and all agreed that early staff engagement and open conversations help enormously, which is one of the reasons staff will see more EPR events and engagement opportunities in the next few months.