Health and Social Care Guernsey delays EPR programme with “further work needed” – HTN Health Tech News

Health and Social Care in Guernsey have issued an update on their electronic patient record (EPR) programme, stating that “further work is needed” in several areas before they can start implementation.

According to the States of Guernsey Health and Social Care, the first phase of the programme is already underway and they are reportedly “on track to go live with implementing the upgraded software in Child Health and Children’s Services by the end of August”, however the implementation of the EPR system has been delayed in four other areas. This includes acute, adult community, adult disability services and mental health.

The HSC has outlined the need to ensure radiology systems are sequenced properly and have emphasised the importance of careful management of timing when rolling out the programme, in order to move forward with minimal clinical risk. As such, they have promised to “confirm timings in due course”, noting that “planning is underway with the relevant third parties for the wider rollout”.

In a statement issued on the official website for the states of Guernsey, the HSC said: “The programme team continues to actively monitor timelines, progress, and risks so that work can be advanced as soon as possible. This is an inherently complex programme with many dependencies on third parties, but throughout this process, Health and Social Care remains committed to ensuring continuity of care and to maintain the highest standards of patient/service user safety.”

This follows a previous delay in the same region shared in May 2024, which took place on the grounds of patient safety.

EPR implementation: the wider trend 

East Cheshire NHS Trust and Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust recently introduced the MEDITECH EPR, with the aim to reduce reliance on paper records at both organisations, as well as laying the foundation for future innovation in patient care.

Last month, Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care NHS Trust partnered with The Access Group to launch Rio as their EPR system, with the aim to “transform care delivery” across the trust. This has allowed them to “connect multiple systems into one” and take advantage of “enhanced security”, allowing staff to access patient information quickly while also protecting sensitive data.

NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde announced plans to procure a paediatric intensive care EPR to replace its current legacy system, which has been in place for more than 10 years. The notice sets out the organisation’s intentions to get a better understanding of current market capabilities and available solutions.

In a recent interview, we spoke with David Newey, interim chief digital transformation officer at Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, about the future of EPRs. The discussion centred around some of the key challenges of successful EPR implementation, with a particular focus on the financial pressures within the NHS and healthcare and how vendors can better support this transformation.