New £10m exemplar initiative for Lorenzo trusts

NHS Digital has announced there will be a specific exemplar initiative for trusts using the electronic patient record (EPR) Lorenzo.

There have been 12 trusts which have been invited to apply to participate in a new “Lorenzo Digital Exemplars Programme’. Each of those trusts are running the Lorenzo electronic patient record.

NHS Digital confirmed to Digital Health News that the initiative does not represent a new investment of money. Instead it uses existing funds in the contract between the Department of Health and DXC Technology as the supplier of the Lorenzo EPR service.

DXC will receive £10m in funding which will flow directly from DH over two to three years from 2017/18 onwards – there is no new commitment to DXC, beyond that agreed in 2013.

The current scheme, which offers £10m each to the 16 chosen acute GDEs and £5m to seven mental health exemplars , is separate to this initiative.

NHS Digital explained “to ensure appropriate oversight of DXC, this is a separate programme under separate governance, financial and commercial arrangements.”

However, it supports the same vision as with the GDE initiative to ‘create an NHS which is “paper free at the point of care”.

Digital Health News understands some of objectives will include; driving down variation, improving quality, reduce operating costs and time to embed digitally enabled practice and developing blueprints and act as a reference site for other trusts during and after the programme.

The Lorenzo care records system was first introduced to the UK under the National Programme for IT in the 2000s, but experienced a troubling rollout.

As reported in HSJ, news of the new Lorenzo programme comes after revealed that the Department of Health is continuing to spend tens of millions of pounds on legacy contracts from the National Program for IT.

Digital Health News understands that trusts will be expected to achieve all relevant aspects of the Digital Maturity Assessment (DMA) 2017 or achieve level 7 on the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society Analytics Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model (HIMSS EMRAM) or equivalent in a timeframe of three years (or less).

However, trusts will not receive funding directly under this programme.  They will receive support from DXC, and will be expected to meet all relevant digital standards applicable to the NHS.

Digital Health News can confirm that the 12 trusts receiving the Lorenzo service were invited to apply based upon their adoption and future plans for Lorenzo.

Nic Fox, director of provider digitisation and programmes at NHS Digital said: “This programme is one of a number of ways we’re working to transform healthcare provision through maximising the potential benefits of using electronic patient records.”

There has been no confirmation as to how many trusts have applied.

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12 trusts invited to take part in Lorenzo Exemplar initiative:

• Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• East & North Hertfordshire NHS Trust
• Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust
• Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust
• Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust
• Norfolk & Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust
• North Staffordshire Combined Healthcare NHS Trust
• Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
• Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
• South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust
• Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust
• Warrington & Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

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