NHS Trusts in Southwest England Will Use Epic Software in Temporary Nightingale Hospital for COVID-19 Patients across Devon and Cornwall

NHS Trusts across Devon and Cornwall counties are planning to set up the Southwest Peninsula’s Nightingale temporary hospital to care for patients with COVID-19. Royal Devon and Exeter (RD&E) NHS Foundation Trust will host and have oversight of the hospital and extend their Epic EPR software.

“Clinicians and staff will use the software to see the patient’s isolation and infection status, recent vital signs, and allergy information from their phone or computer,” said Chris Mulgrew, RD&E’s Chief Clinical Information Officer.

Managers will be able to see an overview of how many patients are currently in hospital and how many patients are expected to be transferred in to help them monitor and manage capacity. The overview will also show clinical information, such as respiratory rates, so managers have a clear picture of the severity of symptoms in current patients.

Clinicians and staff, including nurses, doctors, pharmacists, porters, and housekeepers, will be able to update the patient’s chart or send secure messages from their phones, helping team members communicate and take action. For example, porters and housekeeping staff will view requests for patient movement and bed cleaning on their phones, so they can quickly make beds available.

“All NHS Partner organisations across Devon and Cornwall as well as Epic played key roles in planning services for the Nightingale temporary hospital,” said Tracey Cottam, RD&E’s Director of Transformation & OD.