As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the National Health Service (NHS), we would like to recognise the incredible progress that has been made in healthcare over the past few decades, focusing particularly on the use of technology.

From my own experiences, working in the NHS for the last 27 years as a doctor, including the last few years as a locum A & E consultant, here are some observations I’d like to share in light of this meaningful anniversary.

One of the most significant developments has been the adoption of electronic patient records (EPRs), which have transformed the way medical information is collected, stored, and shared. Today, EPRs are vital tools for healthcare workers, enabling them to provide better and more effective care for their patients.

According to Sonia Patel, system CIO at NHS England, “Fully optimised electronic patient record systems are a fundamental tool for a modern NHS and offer local organisations the opportunity to vastly improve the care they deliver and the experience of their staff.”

What has changed?

In the early days of the NHS, medical records were kept on paper, making it difficult for healthcare providers to access and share information quickly and easily. This often led to delays in treatment and potential errors, as doctors and nurses struggled to keep track of important patient data. However, over the years, technological advancements have enabled the creation of EPRs, which allow medical information to be stored and accessed digitally.

Early EPR systems were often clunky and difficult to use, requiring extensive training for healthcare providers to navigate. However, over time, EPRs have become more user-friendly, with intuitive interfaces that enable doctors, nurses and other AHPs to quickly access the information they need.

Why?

At Altera, we’ve seen how healthcare providers need to have access to patient information from anywhere, at any time. This means that as doctors, we can quickly check a patient’s medical history ‘on-the-go,’ including any allergies, previous conditions or medication they are taking, even if they are away from their usual workstation using our mobile solution. This has proved particularly useful in emergency situations, where quick access to accurate medical information can prove vital. Most recently, where I work, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (GHFT), has gone live in its ED department and is already seeing many quantifiable clinical, administrative and patient benefits since the go-live.

Improving safety

In our work, we have seen how EPRs can help reduce errors and improve patient safety. With all patient medical information stored in one place, doctors and nurses can easily see the complete picture of their health, enabling them to make better informed decisions about their care. Liverpool Heart and Chest NHS Hospital Foundation Trust (LHCH) has been able to reduce medication errors by 55% following their closed-loop medication management rollout with Sunrise™ KBMA:

Dympna Jones, Ward Manager at LHCH, said recently, “Going live with Sunrise KBMA was less about changing our ways of working, and more about seeing how we could configure the system to improve patient safety. It’s been transformative, we’ve developed the system to suit us and things couldn’t be going much better.”

EPRs also reduce the risk of errors caused by illegible handwriting, as everything is typed and recorded electronically. Dr Nabeel Qureshi, Consultant Surgeon and Clinical Lead for EPR, Medway NHS Foundation Trust said, “Having electronic clinical documents all but eradicates human error. Notes are easy to read and can be completed at the bedside on a computer, meaning we spend more time caring for our patients and less time checking handwriting.”

To that point, we’ve seen this at the award-winning Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which achieved one of the fastest EPR deployments on record. Its achievements were recognised by being named the winner of the Excellence in Communication and Engagement category at the 2022 Leading Healthcare Awards.

A shift in culture

From our work with NHS trusts over the years, we know that digital change often means cultural change, which is crucial to EPR success. At Medway, right from the start, the Trust communicated the EPR rollout as a cultural change project, making it easier to engage support from all areas. The aim was to have all stakeholders learn from each other to build the most effective blueprint possible.

At many trusts, such as GHFT, the key to success is clinical engagement. Many organisations may not have used or had access to many digital tools, and/or their workforce may not have been working in a digital way.

When GHFT first went live with nursing documentation and risk assessments, 58 nurses from across the organisation were involved in the design of that documentation. It’s quite easy to build a system quickly, throw it out there and it all go wrong. The key for Gloucester was to build it quickly, put it out there and for it to be used as well as it has, which was all down to clinicians being keen and enthusiastic about working differently.

In conclusion, it is now hard to imagine a healthcare system without EPRs. They have transformed the way medical information is used, improved patient safety and enabled better collaboration between healthcare providers.

As we celebrate the 75th anniversary of the NHS, it’s important to thank all the doctors, nurses and other AHPs for their dedication and commitment. They work tirelessly to care for patients each day, with a commitment to supporting technology that helps bring next-level healthcare delivery within reach, across the entire UK.