NHS Orkney has commenced the rollout of a community electronic patient record system as it speeds up the digitisation of local health services.
Clinicians, allied health professionals and care workers will no longer have to go into the office to pick up case files with the adoption of the ‘Morse’ solution.
Staff can download the latest patient updates at the start of their day, complete their rounds, updating records as they go, and then sync it back to the main system when there is a secure network connection.
The Morse EPR app – developed by Forfar-based Cambric Systems – provides secure, instant access to patient information, including from third-party systems. It saves time and replaces manual paperwork for case notes, reducing the possibility of errors and lost files.
It will enable the NHS Orkney community staff to access patient data and work offline when providing care across a wide geographical and remote and rural area where connectivity can be unreliable.
Initially the Morse app will be used by the community mental health teams, before rolling it out to other NHS Orkney healthcare professionals, including nurses and physiotherapists.
Debs Crohn, head of improvement at NHS Orkney, said: “At NHS Orkney our priority is looking after our community and providing excellent care. Central to achieving this vision is accelerating our digital maturity and transformation work. It’s about having the right tools, technology and support in place to make sure that staff have access to patient data. There was overwhelming support to move forward with Morse following extensive engagement with our staff and clinical teams, and we now have a strong user base.
“This is not just about a clinical system, it is part of our digital transformation – enabling, connecting and empowering our staff. Using Morse will enable our workforce to be more productive and efficient which will also deliver financial and productivity benefits. The enriched data that we collect will really inform our decision making for planning how and where we deliver services.”
Garry Sherriff, MD at Cambric, said: “Our Morse solution helps NHS Orkney to deliver critical patient information to healthcare professionals at the point of care in the community. It helps overcome the challenges of having the right information to hand when visiting patients in remote areas where connectivity can be patchy. It frees healthcare professionals to concentrate on the patient and not administration, supporting NHS Scotland’s aim to improve healthcare outcomes with a digital programme.
“This latest new business win builds further on Cambric’s NHS Scotland customer base and now as part of the larger Abingdon Software Group, we’re excited to leverage our 20 years of experience in Scotland to grow into the NHS England market and bring our unique capability to the community care space.”
NHS Orkney also confirmed in recent board papers that it will “maximise” the use of the national Near Me virtual appointments platform to reduce the need for patients to travel south for treatment. Conversations have taken place with NHS Grampian, NHS Highland and the Golden Jubilee to revisit the letters which go out to patients to make it clear to patients that they are expected to be seen via Near Me ‘where clinically safe to do so’.
