Lorenzo will change the way the Trust keeps patient records from being largely paper-based to an electronic health record, a major step forward for patient safety.
David Snowdon, Chief Executive of Humber NHS FT, said, "Becoming the first mental health trust in England to implement Lorenzo is great news for the Trust and our staff and also for our patients.
"The 'go live' of the new system has gone very smoothly and we couldn’t have done this without the support and dedication of our staff; not only those in our community teams and acute inpatient units who have been trained to use Lorenzo but also those behind the scenes who have worked tirelessly to ensure that it went without a hitch.
"This is an exciting time for the Trust. We are embracing this new technology and are looking forward to developing Lorenzo further to improve services for our patients and cut down on paperwork for our staff. However, it is still early days and we will be monitoring the system closely over the next few weeks to make sure everything is going according to plan."
Humber's Lorenzo Project Team has worked with doctors, nurses and national experts from NHS Connecting for Health, Yorkshire and Humber Strategic Health Authority and CSC, to deliver the patient record system for the Trust. Over the past year the team has rigorously tested and refined the system to ensure that it works and to tailor it to the needs of a mental health service provider.
In this phase of the project, CSC has delivered a patient administration system with clinical applications for care management, task management, internal referrals, clinical documentation and letters, ward attenders, document scanning, and access plans to monitor waiting times and care pathways. The system gives staff immediate access to complete care records, helping to improve efficiency and standards of patient care.
Lorenzo gives staff access to constantly updated information wherever and whenever it is needed. In time, the Trust plans to add more features to the system, meaning staff will no longer have to search for notes as they will have all a patient’s details at hand, including any relevant medical history.
Lorenzo was developed by CSC. Andrea Fiumicelli, chief operating officer of CSC's Healthcare Group said, 'Our focus is working with clinicians to deliver innovative technology-enabled solutions which support the drive for improved care outcomes. Taking Lorenzo live in its first mental health trust is a major step forward.
"Delivering a programme of this complexity requires clear vision and collaboration between a wide range of stakeholders," added Fiumicelli. "Humber has carried this vision and has been a strong proponent of Lorenzo. Working together, the Trust, NHS Connecting for Health and CSC are making a real difference for patients."
The go live of Lorenzo in the Trust was planned to ensure minimum disruption to patient care and to make the changeover as easy as possible for staff. Support was available 24 hours a day to help staff with any issues they might have and feedback has been very supportive of the new system.
Karen Warwick, senior nurse in the Trust's child and adolescent mental health services, said, "Lorenzo is a user friendly, straightforward system; the support team has been on hand from the very beginning and the training was clear and easy to understand. I think it'll be much better for us."
Community mental health nurse Dave Rainforth said, "As with any change, it's taken a bit of getting used to but we are already appreciating Lorenzo's advantages. The support we have had from floorwalkers has been great and any issues have been dealt with quickly."
One of the doctors closely involved in the development of the new system is consultant psychiatrist Simon Matta. He said, "I think Lorenzo has the potential to change patient care for the better. I am finding the system easy to use and when we start the optimisation programme I think we will start to see big improvements."
Jules Williams is project executive for Humber. "It's great to be involved in a project like this," she said. "With the launch of any new computer system, you expect to encounter teething problems that only appear after go-live but we have had very few of these. We've got teams standing by to identify and fix any that issues that might appear and comprehensive support systems for any staff who are struggling. The rollout has been very successful and I am confident in Lorenzo and its potential to improve patient care."
David Snowdon concluded, "This is just the first step in a major programme that, when finished, will improve the way patients are treated for many years into the future."
About Humber NHS Foundation Trust
Humber NHS Foundation Trust provides mental health, learning disability, community and addictions services to people from Hull and the East Riding. The Trust also provides specialist mental health services to people from across the UK.