North Staffordshire goes live with Lorenzo EPR

A West Midlands trust has successfully implemented DXC’s Lorenzo electronic patient record (EPR) over the weekend.

North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust went live with the Lorenzo EPR across all clinical services over 20 to 23 May.

A trust spokesperson said the go-live “has gone extremely well”.

“No appointments were cancelled, delayed or postponed as a result of the launch. Preparations have been in place for many months prior to go live and, wherever possible, we have ensured extra staff have been on duty and clinic lists were manageable.”

The trust was due to go live over the weekend of 13 May but the cyber-attack that crippled the NHS delayed plans by one week.

A spokesperson told Digital Health News on 12 May that everything was ready to go, but that the trust shut down their IT systems as a precaution against the ransomware attack.

The EPR implementation is part of the trust’s Raising our Service Excellence (ROSE) programme.

The spokesperson said that NHS Digital had praised the trust’s preparations and said it would be used as an “exemplar to other NHS organisations”.

“We have received positive feedback from NHS Digital, who have informed us that they thought the way in which we prepared our staff and mobilised for the launch of ROSE was among the best they had seen and would be held up as an exemplar to other NHS organisations.”

Digital Health News has previously reported that the trust said it needed between £14 million and £15 million in funding to implement the EPR.

Prior to the cyber attack, the trust had experienced another setback with its go-live from March to May due to an eight-week hold-up in central approval.

In its November board papers, the trust said the Department of Health NHS Digital had delayed the approval process which “results in revised time frame of May 2017, rather than March 2017”.

The board papers said “the Trust has finally received approval from the Department of Health in respect of funding” for the EPR.

The spokesperson said that 95% of staff had been trained on Lorenzo prior to the go-live, and there was a team of 100 staff who had received additional training to help others. There were also floor walkers available during the go-live period.

He added, that “as is the case when any major new system is rolled out, there will be a period of time while our staff fully adapt and the training they have received becomes second nature”.

In a blog post on the trust’s website from Buki Adeyemo, the trust’s medical director said “there are bound to be teething problems along the way as it beds in and becomes part of how we work every day, but I am confident that it will prove to be a real success”.

North Staffordshire is one of the main providers of mental health, social care and learning disability services in the West Midlands.

DXC was formerly known as CSC, but changed its named when it merged with HP Enterprise Services in April.

A DXC spokeswoman said the supplier had “worked closely with the trust before and during the go-live period and will be continuing to provide support over the coming weeks”.

“The trust’s transition to Lorenzo was completed successfully and will bring real clinical benefits, including easier access and sharing of information.”

25/05/17 – This story was updated to include DXC’s statement.