On Wednesday, 22nd October, between 00:00-06:00, Cerner EPR is being upgraded. Part of this upgrade means the messages in and out of EPR to other systems will be paused for approximately 60 mins between 00:00-01:00. The rest of EPR will be available as normal. 

Messages out of EPR:

  • Admission Discharge Transfers - ADT messages will not go to downstream systems. This includes New Registrations of patients to the Trust, Demographic Updates, and the MRN generation for babies from K2 Athena.  
  • Radiology orders will not leave EPR  - see below for further detail.
  • Pathology orders will not leave EPR - see below for further detail.
  • Discharge summary documents will not leave EPR.  

Messages into EPR:

  • Pathology results will feed in at 01:00 when the downtime is over.   
  • Radiology reports will feed in at 01:00 when the downtime is over.  
  • Baby registrations from K2 Athena can continue but the MRN will not update in K2 until after the downtime.  
  • Observations from Nervecentre will be viewable in EPR after the downtime is over.  

For CRH and HRI Porters / Switchboard the process will stay as normal. 

Useful contact numbers:

  • CRH: Asif Ahmed – 07824 625434 
  • HRI: Saran Ahmed – 07788 732044   

Pathology and Radiology requests:

These should be placed using the paper forms (links can be found below). Results will be available via ICE.  

  • Pathology  reports will continue to be phoned to requestors if urgent or critical.   
  • Any other report can be viewed on ICE as normal. Urgent results will be phoned through to the requestor.  
  • Request Radiology using the paper form below. Requests should be sent with the patient. Reports will continue to be available to view either on CRIS, ICE or PACS. If request is urgent, please phone as the department will not be aware.  

Request forms can be found on the intranet using the links below:  

 Nervecentre

If a patient is already admitted on EPR at the start of downtime: 

  • Colleagues can continue to record in Nervecentre. High risk messages will continue to be escalated.  
  • When the interface is switched back on all the observations taken will be sent into EPR. 

 If a patient is admitted during downtime: 

  • Observations need to be recorded in EPR not on paper.
  • Once the downtime is over, observations recorded in Nervecentre will update in EPR.
  • Observations recorded in EPR will not flow into Nervecentre as normal, one new set will need completing to gain a score. 

 Maternity 

  • Continue to use Athena and Guardian during the interface downtime period. You will be able to admit the woman or baby into Cerner EPR. Only out of area or unknown patients cannot be admitted into EPR. A temporary record can be created in Athena and merged with the NHS number once the interface is restored. 
  • Register the baby as normal within Athena to generate the NHS number. The MRN will link to the system once the downtime is over.
  • If a Pathology or Radiology exam is required, register the baby through Athena Registration and send the request as above. If there are any complications generating the NHS number this way, access the NHS Spine directly. The MRN will link with the system once the downtime is over.    

 Patient flow 724 carts  

724 carts should not be required for this downtime unless instructed to do so by the senior team. If the carts are required to be used, we will refer to the downtime pathway process. All carts should be checked daily as part of the Must Do’s, downtime packs should be accessible, and their location known to all staff including those working nights and weekends.  

 Key cart location:

  • Acute Medical Floor for MAU patients  
  • ICU for ICU patients   
  • Patient Flow for all other inpatients