First mental health trust expands Lorenzo patient record system

Humber NHS Foundation Trust is extending the functionality of its Lorenzo electronic patient record less than five months after becoming the first mental health organisation to use the system.

The trust, which went live with CSC’s Lorenzo solution in May, has been working to optimise the system and is now planning and testing additional functionality including daycare and care plans, which will continue to provide enhanced access to patient information for more than 600 staff across 55 different sites.

Lee Rickles, head of innovation at the trust, said of the implementation: “We hit scope, we hit timescales and we hit budget. There are very, very few projects in the NHS that can say that they have achieved that, so now we are looking to move things forward.”

We are particularly excited about being the first trust to deploy the daycare module, which allows us to plan and clearly view day patients so we can prepare accordingly and manage those individuals more effectively when they are here

Clinical engagement has been key to the success of the project, with clinicians involved throughout the process, as well as administrative, management and support services teams.

Rickles said: “We know the success of this implementation was largely dependent on the people involved, the clinical buy-in and the demand for a system that enables the organisation to operate far more seamlessly. We are meeting with each service area, looking at how they use Lorenzo and how it can be enhanced to support our staff and patients even further.”

The project has been critical in improving the way that healthcare professionals access information about their patients. Lorenzo gives users access to real-time information securely from a single source in any place at any time through PCs and mobile devices. This has led to substantial time savings, especially for new patients.

We know the success of this implementation was largely dependent on the people involved, the clinical buy-in and the demand for a system that enables the organisation to operate far more seamlessly

By adding modules such as electronic care plans, the trust will in future be able to define its own care plans and templates, which will reduce duplication, provide a more structured way of planning, speed up processes and allow the plans to be linked to assessments. In addition, the plans can form the building blocks for multi-resource scheduling and integrated care pathways.

Karen Warwick, senior nurse for child and adolescent mental health services and clinical champion for the Lorenzo Project at the trust, said: “We are also particularly excited about being the first to deploy the daycare module, which allows us to plan and clearly view day patients so we can prepare accordingly and manage those individuals more effectively when they are here.”

Further down the line, the organisation will also look to implement Lorenzo e-Prescribing and advanced bed management solutions.

The expansion comes just a month after the Department of Health signed a fresh contract with CSC to roll out the Lorenzo system to NHS trusts.

Lorenzo was originally part of the now defunct NHS National Programme for IT, but as part of the new deal, which runs until July 2016, individual trusts will be able to choose the system they prefer and will not be tied to a regional system as they were previously.