Nottingham University Hospitals takes huge digital step forward | Latest news

Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has taken a major digital step forward to transform the way we deliver and manage patient care.

NUH recently launched a brand-new electronic patient record (EPR) system which will positively impact services across NUH and is an important step in the digital transformation of our organisation. 

Our new Nervecentre EPR will benefit both staff and patients thanks to:

·         Seamless access to patient data across departments.

·         Improved coordination of patient care, supporting decision-making and ultimately leading to better outcomes.

·         Smarter use of data and technology allowing us to spend less time on paperwork and more time caring for patients.

·         Improving quality and cost effectiveness of patient care.

Some elements of Nervecentre were already in use at NUH within our inpatient services, but this was a major expansion of the Administration, Theatres and Outpatients elements of the Electronic Patient Record system. 

We are now on a 10-year journey to ensure we make the most of this investment with more improvements and developments still to come.

When the Nervecentre systems went live on Monday 3 November, we experienced a slower than expected performance. However, we worked closely with our partners at Nervecentre to resolve the performance issues in order to rapidly restore stability to the EPR system across NUH.

Andy Callow, Chief Digital and Transformation Officer said: “The launch of our new EPR is a significant milestone in our digital journey, and one that we are all very proud of.  

“This is an exciting opportunity for our staff to use the latest technology to support with creating a more efficient service for our patients by streamlining processes and communication channels.

“I’d like to thank all of our staff for their hard work, dedication and commitment in embracing this change and getting us to this key point in our digital transformation journey.”

Mark Simmonds, Deputy Medical Director and Clinical Lead for the EPR Programme, said:  

“It is always a balance of risk when introducing new technology in healthcare, but we are pleased to have implemented a functioning EPR that forms part of our digital transformation to continuously improve the way we deliver and manage patient care.

“Despite our initial challenges, teams across NUH are getting stuck in and learning a new way of working. There is a lot more work to do but this is an exciting start to our digital transformation with the delivery of quality patient care at its heart”.

The launch of the EPR plays a large role in the Analogue to Digital priority NHS’s 10-Year plan which champions the use of new technologies to help staff, improve patient care and enable patients to manage their own health online, with a single care record system being a key goal in achieving this.

Dermot Ryan, NHS England’s Director of Digital Transformation, said: “The Electronic Patient Record (EPR) go-live at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust represents a major step forward in their digital transformation journey.

“This milestone is testament to extraordinary commitment and effort from everyone involved and lays important digital foundations for innovative technologies that further support clinical practice, unlock productivity, and enhance patient care.”

During 2026, we will start to introduce further functions on Nervecentre such as the Patient Centre module which allows patients to get more involved in their own care using digital tools.  More information on this will be shared in due course. 

This move to Nervecentre marks a significant milestone in NUH’s digital transformation journey and will support us in our plans to use digital, data and technology to enhance the work that we do at NUH. This is a 10-year partnership with Nervecentre and we look forward to working with them to build on our EPR system.  

Paul Volkaerts, Nervecentre CEO, said: "EPR go-lives are among the most demanding and complex digital moments for any hospital, affecting every service, every patient, and every staff member. 

“Delivering that transformation at the scale of NUH is an incredible achievement that reflects the strength of the partnership between NUH and Nervecentre, working together with a shared goal to deliver the best possible digital tools to support safe and efficient patient care."