National award for UHDB and CRH as digital system helps patients get faster care
Colleagues at UHDB and neighbouring Trust, Chesterfield Royal Hospital, have won a prestigious national award for jointly implementing the first phase of a new electronic patient record (EPR) system, which 12 months on, is bringing about real benefits for patients and clinical staff - supporting earlier diagnosis and treatment by helping teams quickly identify when patients are becoming unwell.
In collaboration with Chesterfield Royal Hospital (CRH), last week University Hospitals of Derby and Burton NHS Foundation Trust (UHDB) took away the top prize in Outstanding Achievement in EPR Implementation and Optimisation category at the HSJ Digital Awards 2026 for their work implementing the first module in new EPR Nervecentre, called the Patient Safety Bundle.
This digital system is used on handheld devices at the patient's bedside to enter patient observations and assessments, which are routine checks to monitor a patient, such as heart rate and temperature. The Trust's EPR team has worked on making these as quick to record as possible, which has saved over 150,000 clinical hours in the first year that otherwise would have been spent entering data - allowing more time to provide care for patients.
Nervecentre also recognises if a patient is deteriorating based on the recorded observations, and automatically sends an alert to a senior clinician, which has meant patients who are becoming more unwell are seen, diagnosed and treated faster, with 15% more patients given antibiotics within one hour - helping a faster recovery.
Paula Dunnan, EPR Director, explained the impact of the new technology: "We are a large trust, with more than 100,000 patients needing to stay in one of our hospitals each year - so it's important we look at how we can best use technology like this to improve how our clinical teams work, which in turn helps improve safety of patient care.
"We have completed more than four million observations and over five million assessments in the last 12 months - so when we are able to streamline this process, even by around a minute per entry, we have seen huge benefits in terms of how clinical colleagues can use their time. We've seen faster clinical decision making, which has meant we can diagnose and treat patients sooner, helping them have a shorter stay in hospital and safer care.
"Our EPR team is made up of both clinicians and technical experts, who have worked together to design and implement a system that is technically robust, and with clinicians' needs at its core - with technology to improve their day-to-day working lives.
"This has been a real team effort across UHDB and our partners, and this award reflects the difference that work is making for our patients and communities, both now and into the future."
Nervecentre has also supported the Trust's sustainability ambition, using 633,000 fewer sheets of paper, saving over £73,000 in the first 12 months.
The work doesn't stop there; later this year, UHDB will roll out the remaining elements of the Nervecentre EPR, further transforming how care is delivered - from recording patient information to prescribing medication and accessing test results. Using a single digital system across our hospitals will help ensure safer, more coordinated care and better outcomes for patients.
Stephen Posey, Chief Executive at UHDB, said: "This award recognises the scale of what has been achieved at UHDB and the strength of collaboration behind it. Our focus is not simply on introducing new technology, but on how we use it to make a meaningful difference to patient care.
"Through Nervecentre, we are already seeing how digital tools can support earlier intervention, improve patient safety and help our teams spend more time where it matters most - caring for patients. That is the real measure of success.
"As we continue our digital journey, we remain focused on building more joined-up, resilient services that meet the needs of our patients today while preparing for the challenges of the future.”
Photo description:
Top photo: Nervecentre in use on a handheld device
Second photo: Some members of the EPR team on stage winning the HSJ Digital Award 2026