Cerner EPR is being upgraded between 00:00 - 06:00 on Thursday, 2nd May.
Part of this upgrade means the interfaces (messages from EPR to other systems) will be stopped for approximately 60 minutes between 00:00-01:00. This means that messages in and out of EPR will be paused, but the rest of EPR will be available as normal.
Messages out of EPR affected only for 60 mins at 00:00-01:00
- Admission Discharge Transfers ADT messages will not go to downstream systems (New Registrations of patients to the Trust, Demographic Updates, includes the MRN generation for babies from K2 Athena will be affected)
- Radiology orders will not leave EPR **See below for detail**
- Pathology orders will not leave EPR **See below for detail**
- Discharge summary documents will not leave EPR
Messages into EPR affected only for the 60 mins at 00:00-01:00
- 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
HRI and CRH Porters / switchboard
- Process will stay as normal
Useful contact numbers
- Louise Croxall: 07827 984 590 (CRH)
- Asif Ahmed: 07824 625 434 (HRI)
**Pathology and Radiology requests**
These should be placed using the paper forms 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 department will not be aware.
Access the following Intranet pages for any request forms (click each link):
Nervecentre
If a patient is already admitted on EPR at the start of downtime:
- Staff 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 will require recording 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 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 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 Dos, downtime packs should be accessible, and their location known to ALL staff including those working nights and weekends.
Key cart locations:
- Acute Medical Floor for MAU patients
- ICU for ICU patients
- Patient Flow for all other Inpatients