Martyn Smith, Director of IT and Innovation confirmed that Lorenzo will be the heart of a transformational IT programme designed to profoundly change the way the Trust carries out the business of caring for the people of Hull and the East Riding of Yorkshire. "In November 2011 the Trust Board approved an ambitious IM&T Strategy, committing to spend over £20m on new systems and infrastructure over the next 5 years."

The Trust currently uses the iSOFT PatientCentre EPR and will be looking to build on the benefits which have been delivered via that system since it went live under a PFI managed service contract in 1999. "Because of our existing PatientCentre functionality we will be taking the full suite of Lorenzo clinicals. The Lorenzo deployment model allows us to be bold and to deploy a full like-for-like service at the earliest opportunity, including electronic ordering, electronic reporting and Emergency Care." Smith said the Trust will explore the possibility of implementing the e-prescribing module within Lorenzo once it had been successfully deployed into Morecambe Bay, but is working closely with CSC to look at options.

Hull & East Yorkshire Hospitals is currently rolling out the Cayder electronic 'white board' system across its wards, which is fully integrated with the current EPR. Alongside of Lorenzo the Trust intends to implement a clinical portal, e-Casenotes and an e-Observations system as part of the path towards a fully digital record.

Mark Simpson, Chief Clinical Information Officer and Consultant in ED said: "We are in the middle of an ambitious £7m expansion of our Emergency Department. Having an Emergency Care module within Lorenzo allows us to exploit that fully integrated care record and avoids the need to procure a separate ED system. Rolling out Lorenzo Emergency Care is a logical step for us. We are already working with CSC to trial the use of Self-Service Patient Kiosks innovatively within our new Emergency Care Centre. The kiosks will allow patients to identify their record and help stream to either GP or Emergency Care in order to facilitate better patient flow and more rapid treatment for patients presenting to the ambulatory area."

Phil Morley has supported the use of technology throughout the Trust since taking up the post of Trust Chief Executive in October 2010: "I am a passionate advocate of using technology to unlock the potential for better care, better outcomes, improved patient experience, improved efficiency, better partnership working and a more professional workforce. Lorenzo will be a key plank of our transformational programme. Lorenzo will help us eliminate paper, facilitate agile working, support collaborative working and share information more effectively."

The Trust has been working closely with CSC over the last 18 months, reviewing Lorenzo functionality, keeping a close eye on developments at Morecambe Bay and developing a plan which will enable the hospital to unlock its significant investment in new technology. The Trust is on target to take their full business case to the Trust Board in March 2013. Subject to Trust Board approval, we will then seek formal approval the Department of Health to proceed with the Lorenzo deployment.

Mark Simpson: "The fundamental aim of our IM&T Strategy is to give more control to our clinicians over the information they receive and the decisions they take. We want to enable and enhance clinical practice through the use of modern technology. I am leading an extensive clinical engagement programme and we want to ensure that this is not an IT led deployment, but a true transformation project led by clinicians."

Martyn Smith said: "We are engaged on a detailed evaluation of Lorenzo and its ability to support our plans for connecting patient information systems across the local health community, reducing the reliance on the paper record. We are working with our neighbours, Humber NHS Trust, to build on their success with Lorenzo and together we aim to create a single unified record as soon as possible.

"We know that this is a hugely significant step for us and for the patients we treat. Of course there are risks, but those aren't unique to Lorenzo. Creating a sustainable deployment model is going to be critical. What we have seen so far, our experience of working closely with CSC, together with the support we have received from our SHA, gives us confidence that we can build a partnership which can achieve something really positive with Lorenzo at Hull and East Yorkshire Hospitals."

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