Cerner is delighted to announce that we have started working with Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust to implement a fully integrated electronic patient records (EPR) system across both Trusts.
The new EPR, powered by Cerner Millennium® and internally referred to by staff as Surrey Safe Care, will replace paper-based records and processes, enabling staff to access a single, reliable and integrated source of clinical information containing relevant patient details such as test results, medications, discharge summaries and other information associated to their care.
The benefits of sharing
Together, the two Trusts serve a population of approximately 800,000 people across six sites, and a wider population of 1.3 million for cancer services. Having a shared EPR system will bring a number of benefits.
With key clinical information available at their fingertips -irrespective of where care was provided- clinicians and care professionals will be better equipped to make informed decisions in a faster and more efficient way, resulting in a more coordinated approach to effective and consistent care.
Other notable benefits that come with a shared Cerner Millennium domain include an increased capability to share resources and skillset between the two organisations and an opportunity to collaboratively re-design care pathways to deliver the highest possible quality of care.
Once rollout is complete, there is potential for the EPR to be scaled across the Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System (ICS), enabling system-wide transformation and the delivery of truly integrated care.
On the right path
Earlier this year, NHSX announced the first wave of Trusts that will benefit from NHS Digital Aspirants programme, with both Ashford and St Peter’s and Royal Surrey included in the initial list alongside 21 other Trusts.
The programme, announced in December 2019 by Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock, aims to accelerate procurement, deployment and uptake of technology that is fundamental to underpin digital transformation.
Being selected by NHSX as part of this initiative goes a long way to show that both Trusts are on the right path and have a clear vision to achieve successful and meaningful transformation for the benefit of patients, staff, and the wider health system.
“We are delighted to be working with Cerner as we embark on the journey to deliver on our mission of providing an exceptional, safe and efficient healthcare experience for our patients and staff,” said Simon Marshall, senior responsible officer for the project.
“This is a great opportunity for us to transform the way we deliver care, moving from a paper-based way of working to an integrated 21st century solution. This will enable us to operate at the forefront of digital care and is an important milestone as recognised Digital Aspirant Trusts.”
Distie Profit, managing director for Cerner UK added:
“Informed decision-making forms the basis of safe and reliable care. Making relevant and up-to-date patient information available at the point of care in a proven and integrated platform is fundamental to enable this.
“We are proud to have been chosen as the IT partners to support Ashford and Royal Surrey in this joint venture. Having supported a number of other NHS Trusts as they go live with shared Millennium domains, we are confident that this project will bring a raft of benefits that will mark a before and after in the way care is provided to patients.”
