University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Trust (UHMBT) is celebrating becoming the first acute Trust in England to go live with Lorenzo Release 1.9 – a state of the art electronic patient record system. 3,500 staff across our five hospitals are now using the system for all clinical activity.
Lorenzo will change the way we keep patient records from being largely paper-based to a brand new electronic health record - a major step forward for patient safety.
Tony Halsall, Chief Executive, UHMBT, said: “Becoming the first acute Trust in England to implement Lorenzo is not only fantastic news for the Trust and our staff, but also for our patients.
“All of our wards were brought live by the project team in a phased manner over the Bank Holiday weekend and by the morning of Sunday 30 May 2010, every ward in each of our hospitals was using Lorenzo. We completed the full implementation of Lorenzo on 3 June.
“The rollout of the new system has gone very smoothly and we couldn’t have done this without the support and dedication of our staff – both those on the wards who have embraced Lorenzo and those behind the scenes who have worked tirelessly to ensure that it went without a glitch.
“This is an exciting time for the Trust. We are at the cutting edge of this new technology and are looking forward to developing Lorenzo.”
Our Lorenzo Project Team has worked side by side with our doctors and nurses and national experts from NHS Connecting for Health, the North West Strategic Health Authority and Computer Sciences Corporation Alliance (CSCA), to deliver the patient record system for Morecambe Bay. Over the past four years, the team has rigorously tested and refined the system in-house to ensure that it works by putting the patient first. It has been designed to focus on you and your healthcare needs, rather than the NHS organisation you are being treated by.
Lorenzo gives our staff access to constantly updated information wherever and whenever it is needed, regardless of which of our hospitals you are in. In time, we will add more and more features to the system, meaning we will no longer have to search for notes as we will have all your details at hand, including any relevant medical history and test results. This will ensure we have a safer service, carry out fewer duplicate investigations and reduce the number of avoidable admissions to hospital.
The rollout of Lorenzo in our hospitals was planned not only to ensure minimum disruption to patient care, but also to make the changeover as easy as possible for our staff. Support has been on hand 24 hours a day to help staff with any issues they may have and so far, feedback from our wards and departments has been very supportive of the new system.
Josephine Pimentel, Clinical Leader, Ward 6, Furness General Hospital, said: “I find Lorenzo a user friendly, straight forward system and much quicker than IPM. The support team has been on hand from the very beginning and the training was clear and concise. I think it’ll be much better for us.”
Andrea Coates, Clinical Leader, Coronary Care Unit, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, said: “Like with any change, things are taking a little longer to do, but in time, we will begin to appreciate it. The support we have had from floorwalkers has been great and any issues have been dealt with quickly.”
Patricia Fenton, Staff Nurse, Renal Unit, Westmorland General Hospital, said: "Having feared the arrival of Lorenzo for months, I have actually found the system very easy to use. The help and assistance provided by our floorwalker during the changeover actually made the whole thing an enjoyable experience."
Anna Fubini, Staff Nurse, Children’s Ward, Furness General Hospital, said: “The changeover has not been as bad as I thought. I thought it was going to be a nightmare but it has been really straight forward so far! There will always be little glitches but support has been on hand - Guru, the online support tool, has been fantastic and the floorwalkers have come round and any issues are resolved in a matter of minutes.”
Pat Woof, Ward Clerk, Ward 37, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, said: “The changeover from iPM to Lorenzo went smoothly, with any issues being dealt with quickly. There are a couple of things that are different in Lorenzo, but like with any change, we will get used to them in time. To prepare for the changeover, I printed off the relevant parts of Guru that our ward would need.”
Yvonne Anderson, Staff Nurse, Ward 4, Furness General Hospital, said: “At first, I thought Lorenzo was mind boggling but I have now mastered it. Transferring patients is much easier and I was really chuffed to be able to print out labels, wrist bands and patient front sheets from one screen – it is so much quicker! It is a new system, so it is bound to take some time to settle in.”
Mark Freeman, Ward Clerk, Medical Assessment Unit, Royal Lancaster Infirmary, said: “The system works well and is a good step towards creating electronic patient records. It will be good for our patients.”
One of the many hospital doctors closely involved in the development of the new system is Mr George Nasmyth, Consultant General Surgeon / Associate Medical Director. He said: “I have been using Lorenzo to write operation notes and have found its potential considerable. First and foremost are the needs of our patients and new modules are being developed, including prescribing, which has the potential for immediate and accurate communication of treatment protocols between primary and secondary care with huge advantages for patients.”
Steve Fairclough, Head of Health Informatics for UHMBT, led the Project Team in Morecambe Bay and brought in experts from around the world to develop the new electronic patient record technology. He said: “It is great to be involved in a project like this and my team have a great track record in implementing national IT programmes.
“With the launch of any new computer system, you expect to encounter teething problems that only appear after go-live. We have a team of people on site who are correctly equipped to both identify and fix any that may appear. I am confident in Lorenzo and also in my team who are working around the clock to implement it.”
Tony Halsall, concluded: “It is important to note that the Lorenzo 1.9 Care Records System, live at Morecambe Bay for the first time, is just the first step in the movement to an electronic health record. Success at this stage lays the substantial platform to which further modules will be added.
“I am confident that this is just the first step in a major change programme that, when finished, will provide benefit to the way patients are treated for many years into the future.”
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Further information
For further press information please contact Louise Fleming on 01539 716685
or e-mail louise.fleming@mbht.nhs.uk
