IT system linked to clinical harm still used by 14 NHS trusts

The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, which runs Lister Hospital in Stevenage and the New QEII Hospital in Welwyn Garden City, is one of 14  trusts in England still using the EPR system Lorenzo.

Many trusts began moving away from Lorenzo in 2020, after a national programme for IT in the NHS failed, and amid concerns about Lorenzo's quality. The system was discontinued in 2022.

Nationally, several incidents of clinical harm have been linked to Lorenzo, with issues including record duplication, deleting patient records and failing to send patient letters.

In 2018, the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust declared a ‘serious incident’ after discovering up to 14,600 patient discharge summaries may not have been sent to GPs.

It could have meant patients missed medical tests, scans or appointments, which would have been detailed in these letters, and it left medical consultants reviewing all 14,600 patient records individually, to identify outstanding action.

The East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust says no patient safety incidents have been caused by Lorenzo at its trust, but that its EPR system will be upgraded next summer.

"This will bring all our patient information into one digital space for our doctors and nurses, and benefit our patients – who will also have more control over appointments, letters and other hospital communications," explained the trust's chief information officer, Mark Stanton.

"While the move to our new system is underway, Lorenzo continues to provide a valuable service tracking our patient records and information, and it remains under a technical support contract.

"There have been no patient safety incidents caused by Lorenzo. However, we know there were lessons learned about the training and preparation for new digital systems, and we will ensure measures are in place for minimal disruption during the switch over to the new EPR."