Patients attending the Emergency Department (ED) at Princess Royal Hospital are now benefiting from new digital systems for recording observations and prescribing medicines. An important step in improving urgent and emergency care and moving our services from analogue to digital, supporting our wider ambition to deliver excellent care everywhere.
Last week, the department moved away from paper charts and onto secure electronic systems. This means vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and oxygen levels are recorded digitally. The system also supports early warning scores and alerts to help staff quickly identify if a patient’s condition is worsening, including signs of serious conditions such as sepsis.
The change is designed to improve patient safety and support quicker clinical decision-making. The system automatically alerts staff if a patient’s condition is deteriorating and provides clear guidance on when to escalate care. When medicines are prescribed, built-in safety checks highlight allergies, potential drug interactions and appropriate dosing, helping to reduce the risk of errors and ensuring patients receive the right treatment at the right time.
David Coyle, Interim Deputy Chief Operating Officer, said:
“Introducing digital prescribing and observations in our Emergency Department is an important step forward for patient safety. In such a busy and fast-moving environment, having real-time access to accurate information supports our teams to deliver high-quality, consistent care.”
Lead digital nurse for the Trust, Lucia Bisi added:
“This will make a huge difference for both our staff and our patients. Instead of relying on paper charts, we can now see straight away if someone’s condition is changing.
It helps us make safer decisions and give patients the right care at the right time.”
In the first ten days alone, 3000 medicines were prescribed using the new digital prescribing system – activity that would previously have relied entirely on paper records. Moving to digital also means information is clearer, easier to access and can be shared more effectively between members of the clinical team.
This is the first phase of a wider programme to modernise Emergency Departments across UHSussex. It forms part of our ongoing work to reduce reliance on paper, improve access to real-time information and strengthen patient safety as we continue developing our future Electronic Patient Record.