NHS England Achieves Government’s EPR Target
NHS England has announced the successful achievement of the Government’s goal, ensuring that 90% of trusts have implemented electronic patient records (EPRs) in hospitals.
Currently, a total of 189 NHS trusts have embraced new systems, with Hillingdon Hospitals and Sheffield Health and Social Care NHS trusts being the most recent to go live.
The government had established a target date of December 2023 in the Plan for digital health and social care, released last year.
To facilitate this transition, NHS England is investing £1.9 billion to support hospital trusts in adopting new systems or enhancing their existing ones.
In the previous year, over £400 million was allocated to assist 150 NHS trusts, and an additional £500 million is slated to reach trusts this year.
At the NHS Providers National Conference and Exhibition in Liverpool on Wednesday, NHS England’s Chief Executive, Amanda Pritchard, expressed gratitude to the teams at Sheffield Health and Social Care and Hillingdon Hospitals, stating: “Thanks to the teams at Sheffield Health and Social Care and Hillingdon Hospitals, who completed their go-lives over the last couple of weeks, you have now delivered on the target for 90% of trusts to have this capability in place ahead of winter.
“Delivering that switch isn’t easy but it’s worth it because that’s the underpinning work that will enable us to benefit from new technologies.”
Health and Social Care Secretary Victoria Atkins also commended the achievement: “I am pleased NHS England has met this important target ahead of schedule and look forward to working with the health service to ensure all NHS staff have the resources they need to deliver the modern healthcare our patients deserve.”
EPR systems in hospitals amalgamate patient notes, lab results, observations, and digital prescribing. The inclusion of alert features assists clinicians in promptly identifying individuals at risk from conditions such as sepsis.
Looking ahead, the next target is to have 95% of trusts with an EPR in place by March 2025, with the remaining hospitals anticipated to go live the following year.
