Monitor Blasts Rotherham's Meditech EPR Programme

The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust has been found in significant breach of its terms of authorisation by Monitor, with its electronic patient record implementation identified as a key issue. The trust this month admitted it was facing "persistant serious issues" with the deployment of its Meditech EPR including "clinician and staff acceptance and usability."

It has stopped all go-lives of the system and has hired an external consultant, Larry Blevins, to conduct an immediate review of the system. A statement from Monitor said The Rotherham had significantly underperformed on its financial plans leading to concerns about the way it was governed.

Key concerns included the trust’s failure to successfully implement a new EPR which led to problems booking patient appointments and loss of income. A letter from Monitor to The Rotherham says: “The trust has not managed EPR implementation in an effective way and significant operational and financial risks will remain until the trust has a robust and operationally effective EPR system."...