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Interfaces (messages from EPR to other systems) will be stopped for approximately two hours on Thursday. This means that messages in and out of EPR will be paused, and the system will be unavailable to all staff to record and document anything during this time. Pre-downtime please print off any drug charts that will be required during 03:00 to 05:00. Also any ReSPECT forms that may be needed during the downtime will need to be printed off prior to 03:00.

Thursday 11th July 03:00 to 05:00 - duration of two hours

Messages out of EPR affected:

  • Admission Discharge Transfers (ADT) messages will not go to downstream systems (this means that 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 be done in EPR as it will be unavailable - see below for detail 
  • Pathology orders will not be done in EPR as it will be unavailable - see below for detail 
  • Discharge summary documents will not leave EPR 

Messages into EPR affected:

  • Pathology results will feed in at 05:00 when the downtime is over  
  • Radiology reports will feed in at 05:00 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 as they will feed in at 06:30 when the downtime is over  

HRI / Switchboard

  • The portering manager will advise all colleagues on shift of the planned downtime and provide them with guidelines of the alternative process, which will revert back to bleeps and radios
  • Wards will ring switchboard for a porter
  • Switchboard will give the caller the bleep numbers of the porters 
  • Ward will bleep the porter and arrange the transfer

CRH Porters / Help Desk:

  • Site Services staff on shift will be advised of the planned downtime and provided with guidelines on the alternative process which will be use of radios
  • Wards to ring Help Desk on 4600 requesting a porter
  • Help Desk Operative to radio porter with details of job
  • Ward to ring Help Desk on 4600 to request any room cleans

       USEFUL CONTACT NUMBERS 

  • HRI ART: OOH mobile 01484 343 358 - Bleep 253 or 709 
  • CRH ART:- OOH 01422 224 924 - Bleep 8850 or 4006 
  • Clinical Site Matrons: Jayne Denton – HRI Rachel Cullen - CRH
  • Neil Staniforth – 07717 348 670 – on site HRI.  Louise Croxall (CNIO) – on site CRH 

PATHOLOGY AND RADIOLOGY REQUESTS 

These should be placed using the paper forms below and the 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 the request is urgent, please phone as the department will not be aware. 

Access the following Intranet pages for any request forms:

  Medications 

  • Please ensure that all medications are administered where possible before the downtime
  • If you know that medication will need to be administered between 03:00 – 05:00 print the patients MAR in advance of the downtime following the procedure – DA2 Downtime Meds. Click here to read it.
  • If you need to prescribe or administer during the downtime, contact the night matron who will assist in the printing of the MAR for medication history. A paper drug chart can be obtained from the downtime packs on the ward - use to prescribe and administer. Following the downtime, retrospectively enter the prescription and/or the drug administration as per above guidance and save the paper drug chart for scanning.

NERVECENTRE 

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

  • Colleagues can continue to record in Nervecentre. Escalations will continue via the normal route
  • 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 on paper. Once the downtime is over, colleagues are required to retrospectively enter these observations back into the EPR as soon as possible.

MATERNITY  

  • Continue to use Athena and Guardian during the downtime period, but be aware that you will be unable to admit the woman or baby into Cerner EPR
  • 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.
  • Pathology and radiology requests should be completed via K2 using the ICE link the results will be available via ICE in K2.  

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 need 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 location:

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