Kent and Medway to implement Ascribe

17 Jun 2008

Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust has disbanded its Care Records System team and will implement a system from Ascribe instead.

Following Fujitsu’s exit from the National Programme for IT, the trust decided to use its contingency plans to consolidate all of its existing systems into a single system known as ePEX from Ascribe.

ePEX is designed to support mental health and community care and Ascribe says it is already in use in more than 35 UK trusts.

Work on the consolidation has begun, with the trust creating an ePEX consolidation project board, chaired by the trust’s chief executive. An order has been placed for the initial software modules and a date for installation is now being scheduled.

The trust’s director of IM&T, Les Manley, told EHI: “We are disappointed with the outcome of contract reset; however any repercussions for us are minimised because we do have a contingency plan.

“The trust has two primary information systems and a small number of specialist departmental systems. The consolidation plan will see one of these primary systems replaced and the other system enhanced and rolled out across the trust.

“Although we're still working on detailed plans, we believe we will go live at the beginning of next year.”

Senior staff from the former CRS board have been moved to the ePEX project and are helping the trust plan for the migration. An e-learning programme is also under development to allow staff to learn the new system quickly.

Manley told EHI that additional costs to the trust had been minimised, as they are able to use funds previously allocated to CRS plans.

“We have redirected the project resources we had for the local service provider solution. We are also already paying for our existing systems, and the cost for additional licensing of one system is offset by the savings from the system we will switch off.

“Data migration costs are already accounted for in our CRS plans and we expect to use the same partner for this project. Additional costs are therefore minimal and associated with the enhancements we wish to implement.”

According to project board papers, the trust has spent £50,000 on software procurement, with delivery expected by the end of the month.

The trust had previously been working closely with Fujitsu and the Southern Programme for IT, and had begun plans for CRS deployment in October 2007.

At the time, the senior responsible owner for deployment at the trust told EHI: “Our clinical staff are involved in the design process and work in collaboration with colleagues from other mental health trusts.

“We are looking for opportunities to influence what is delivered within each software release so that more functionality is delivered sooner and we are exploring ways to improve development/deployment cycles.”

However, these plans stalled as Fujitsu entered a failed contract reset. The trust now says the switch to ePEX is a redirection, which will only be reviewed when “a new CRS product has been identified and deployment plans had been agreed.”

Link

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Reader's Comments

Not a single record!

maryhawking@tigers.demon.co.uk

19 Jun 08 20:37

"ePEX is a modern integrated solution designed to support the inter-agency needs of the modern primary healthcare community including Community Nursing, PAMS, Mental Health, Learning Disabilities, Child Health, Elderly Services and Social Care. ePEX is used in over 35 UK Trusts as a single, resilient, reliable, flexible solution and will provide all the interoperability standards to meet ICRS requirements. ePEX supports the latest initiatives including eCPA, Single Assessment, Mental Health MDS and boasts a rich care planning / pathways model" no mention of general practice - and their GP system is Exeter - which is not in the list for GPSoC. Interesting.

There is no claim that it is a single record

24 Jun 08 22:17

"The Trust provides a wide range of services across Kent and Medway. The main focus is on mental health services, but other services provided include forensic mental health, learning disability, substance misuse and a range of specialist services." (Trust website)

There is no mention of primary care, so the trust does not require a primary care system. The story clearly states that the trust is aiming for a single system for the services it provides. Thus, the description of the system seems to suggest a close fit. There is no mention of aiming for a single health record for the residents of Kent and Medway.

It is hardly fair to criticise the project for not being a single integrated EHR, when it is clear from the story that this is simply the rollout (and enhancement) of one of two existing systems across the whole trust, applied in the absence of any short-term prospect of an integrated EHR. Surely a sensible step under the circumstances?

Kent and Medway to implement Ascribe

*Not* a single record!

There is no claim that it is a single record

Not a single record!