Dudley and Black Country Partnership go live with Rio EPR

Two mental health trusts in the West Midlands have deployed Servelec’s Rio clinical system across Children and Young People Services (CYFS) and Learning Disabilities services.

Neighbouring Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust and Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust went live across CYPF services on 28 October and in Learning Disabilities services on 4 November, following a six-month implementation process.

The electronic patient record (EPR) system is now available to 600 staff and clinicians across both trusts, allowing the secure and seamless flow of information between them.

Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership and Black Country Partnership currently provide care as separate organisations, but plans are in place to merge the two trusts in 2020.

It is hoped the merger will strengthen mental health; children, young people and families; and learning disabilities services across the Black Country.

Having Servelec’s Rio EPR in place will enable greater interoperability across both trusts as well as creating a single view of each patient to improve patient care.

Mark Syrett, EPR Programme Director across both organisations says: “Servelec has risen to the challenge of providing a single system across both trusts and bringing our patient records together as we align our working practices and processes in this new partnership.

“We have already seen staff benefit from no longer having to dig through paper records and spend hours searching through legacy systems. With this improved flow of information between the trusts, patients stand to gain improved access to services and a better treatment experience.”

Phase two of the implementation will see the system rolled out to a further 2000 users across older adult and child and adolescent mental health services (CAHMS) at both trusts, and is expected to be completed by spring 2020.

Neil Laycock, Managing Director of Servelec Healthcare, said: “We’re very pleased to work with the two trusts to provide our Rio EPR solution as their partnership grows and progresses. Their vision to improve integrated care between the trusts aligns with our own aspirations to transform how healthcare data is shared.

“As a technology provider, we advocate openness so that patients can reap the benefits of a joined-up approach to their care, and we develop our solutions with patients at their centre, so we can help clinicians in the delivery of the best possible course of treatment.”