NHS Orkney to go live with Cambric Morse EPR app in 2025

NHS Orkney has announced plans to go live with Cambric Systems’ Morse electronic patient record (EPR) app in 2025 to provide easy access to patient data for staff.

The deal with Cambric Systems, a supplier of healthcare patient data software solutions used in secondary and community-based healthcare setting across Scotland, was completed in September 2024 following an evaluation.

Cambric told Digital Health News that it is working with NHS Orkney to map out the deployment and expects to go live with the first services in early 2025.

The app will initially be used by community mental health teams before being rolled out to other healthcare professionals, including nurses and physiotherapists.

Debs Crohn, head of development at NHS Orkney, said: “This is not just about a clinical system, it is part of our digital transformation enabling, connecting and empowering our staff.

“Using Morse will enable our workforce to be more productive and efficient which will also deliver financial and productivity benefits.

“The enriched data that we collect will really inform our decision making for planning how and where we deliver services”.

The Morse solution was selected for its flexibility in providing easy access to patient records, enabling NHS Orkney community staff to access patient data and work offline when providing care across a wide geographical, remote and rural area where connectivity can be unreliable.

The app is intended to save time and replace manual paperwork for case notes, reducing the possibility of errors and lost files.

It provides access to patient information, including from third-party systems, so that clinicians, allied health professionals and care worked do not need to go into the office or clinic to collect case files.

Garry Sherriff, managing director at Cambric, said: “Our Morse solution helps NHS Orkney to deliver critical patient information to healthcare professionals at the point of care in the community.

“It helps overcome the challenges of having the right information to hand when visiting patients in remote areas where connectivity can be patchy.

“It frees healthcare professionals to concentrate on the patient and not administration, supporting NHS Scotland’s aim to improve healthcare outcomes with a digital programme.

He added that the contract with NHS Orkney and that the fir,, which is part of the Abingdon Software Group, is excited to grow into the NHS England market.

NHS Forth Valley deployed the Morse EPR app in November 2022, followed by NHS Fife in December 2022, the NHS Western Isles Health Board in April 2023 and the National Treatment Centre Highland in June 2023.