From vision to reality - the double award nominated EPR procurement bringing benefits for our patients and colleagues
As our largest digital change in UHDB's history, we are pleased that our procurement of the new Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system, Nervecentre, has been shortlist for the prestigious national Health Service Journal (HSJ) Awards, alongside two other teams.
Shortlisted in the 'Provider Collaboration of the Year' category, teams at UHDB, Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (CRH) and NHS London Procurement Partnership (LPP) have been recognised for successfully procuring Nervecentre's EPR across both hospital Trusts.
Alongside this, the procurement has been shortlisted for the 'Cross Functional Collaboration Project' at the Health Care Supply Association (HCSA) Annual Awards 2025 that honours achievements within the healthcare procurement industry.
EPR systems are a centralised way of holding detailed information about a person's care and health, and the new system, Nervecentre, works best on handheld devices meaning colleagues now use mobile phones and tablets to document patient care.
Nervecentre provides staff with instant, easy access to patient records, streamlining current processes and reducing the amount of time they spend completing paperwork.
The first module of Nervecentre, the Patient Safety Bundle, went live simultaneously across UHDB and CRH in February 2025, seeing 7,500 colleagues trained on the system in the first week of go-live across UHDB.
Debbie Loke, Executive Chief Digital Information Officer at UHDB, shared her thoughts on the success we have seen since the cutting-edge system went live as part of our move from analogue to digital.
"It is right that we support our teams to deliver the best care possible, and we can do this by providing an EPR that meets the needs of our colleagues, is easy to use and allows them to spend more time doing what they are trained to do - providing direct care for patients.
"A robust, high-quality procurement sets the foundations for our multi-year EPR programme, and I am proud of all those who have worked hard to make this happen. This is a truly collaborative project, working closely with our neighbouring Trust Chesterfield Royal Hospital and NHS London Procurement Partnership, to bring digital improvements to over 15,000 colleagues.
"We are already seeing colleague and patient benefits from Nervecentre, which would not be possible without the critical procurement work that happened behind the scenes."
Further Nervecentre modules are being rolled out across both Trusts over the next year.
Speaking about the positive way teams have approached the implementation, Dr Jon Cort, Chief Digital Officer at CRH, said: "The successful procurement and implementation of a joined-up digital platform of this scale has been truly ground-breaking.
"The introduction of Nervecentre across both organisations simply wouldn’t have been possible without the dedication and hard work of our procurement teams who worked collaboratively with operational and clinical colleagues to deliver our EPR. This award nomination is a testament to their efforts in laying the foundation for a more connected and patient-focused future."
Stacey Hatton, UHDB's Chief Nursing Information Officer, thanked everyone involved in the process to provide teams with access to a digital system that will support colleagues for years to come.
"I am really proud of the procurement of our EPR, which put that our people and their voices are at the heart of this digital transformation.
"Here at UHDB, we pride ourselves with any digital change being 'clinically-led, operationally delivered, and digitally enabled' as this is about improvements for our patients and colleagues."
The Nervecentre procurement award entry was selected from over 1,250 submissions, with only 245 finalists being shortlisted, highlighting the quality, collaborative work of our teams to bring about digital transformation.
Both the HSJ and HCSA awards ceremonies will be held on 20 November 2025, good luck to all involved.