The Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system will support nearly 20,000 staff with modern digital tools and easier access to patient information.
University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust (UHSussex) has signed a contract with Alcidion to deliver its new Electronic Patient Record (EPR), following the Trust’s announcement of its intention to award the contract in January 2026.
The agreement is a milestone in the Trust’s digital transformation programme. Once in place, the EPR will support nearly 20,000 staff delivering care across seven hospitals and community services. It will bring together information currently held across multiple systems, making it easier and faster for staff to access and share patient information when and where it is needed.
The introduction of an EPR is a key part of the Trust’s ambition to move from analogue to digital, and a central pillar within the Trust’s five-year strategy Excellent Care Everywhere, published in autumn 2025.
For patients, having an EPR will help create a more joined up experience of care. Staff will be able to view patient information in real time, helping them make informed decisions and reducing the need for patients to repeat the same information to different teams.
For staff, the EPR will provide modern digital tools that make it easier to access and share information across teams and services.
The EPR will also support new ways of delivering care, including remote monitoring and virtual services that can help some patients receive care closer to home. Over time, it will create opportunities to use technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and automation to support clinical teams and improve the flow of patients through hospital services.
The Trust has been building the foundations for an EPR over recent years through a number of digital initiatives, including introducing digital observations and electronic prescribing in the Emergency Departments, the roll our of a Trust wide electronic document management and increasing use of digital patient communications through the NHS App and digital letters.
The programme has already been shaped by extensive engagement across the organisation. More than 1,500 colleagues contributed to the development of requirements and procurement process, with over 1,000 staff directly involved in engagement activities.
Roxanne Smith, Chief Strategy Officer at University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust, said:
“Our strategy, Excellent Care Everywhere sets out highly ambitious plans to transform the care we provide and the way we work, by 2030. Delivering an electronic patient record is an essential step towards achieving those ambitions for our patients, helping improve the experience of care and making it easier for staff to access and share information across our hospitals and services
“Our ambition is to provide staff with modern, reliable and intuitive digital tools that bring patient information together in one place and support more consistent ways of working across the Trust. Having an EPR will form a key part of the digital foundation we are building for the future.
“This programme has already been shaped by over a thousand colleagues from across UHSussex, and that collaboration will continue as we move into the next phase of readiness and implementation work.”
With the contract now signed, the programme moves into its next phase, building on the readiness work already underway across UHSussex ahead of the phased introduction of the system from 2027.