Hospital trust moves closer to paperless NHS

A hospital trust has taken a step towards introducing paperless patient notes - making health records more secure and accessible.

South Tees Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is gradually introducing a new electronic document management system across all of its wards at The James Cook University Hospital and the Friarage Hospital.

First to benefit will be children’s services which will start piloting the new digital e-forms soon.

The Evolve Clinical Noting system will eventually replace all healthcare records at the trust. Clinicians will still have access to past paper records, but any new information will go onto the electronic system so they can securely access it from any NHS site.

Benefits of going paperless include that it is more secure, it’s live, it’s efficient and it improves reporting.

As part of the project 1.5 million case notes have been digitally created and 18 months of historic letters are being migrated into the system. Any paper documentation that is received in future will be scanned onto the system.

Ian Whitehead, consultant in anaesthesia and critical care and clinical project lead, said: “Patient records are currently paper based and can be located across numerous places in our hospitals or community health services.

“This can often mean that the complete picture of a patient’s health and care is not immediately available to a clinician at the point of care.

“Evolve will enable colleagues to have access to all the information they need at all times and in all locations, with the digital record available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It’s a stepping stone toward a complete electronic record.”

Lisa Lizzio, clinical noting project manager, said: “It has taken a lot of hard work to ensure we are delivering a system that is safe and fit for purpose but it’s very exciting to be able to roll this out across our hospitals starting with our children’s services.

“Over time patients will see a more streamlined service with clinicians having improved access to clinical records.”