To prepare for EPR its essential Nervecentre is upgraded - this will happen next Wednesday 5 April between 8am and 5pm. Please make sure you are ready...

The system will be unavailable on that day for documentation of observations or escalation of patients. This downtime is necessary to allow a server and app upgrade to take place enabling CHFT to have the latest version of the system and Nervecentre and EPR to work together once EPR is live.

This upgrade needs to be done at this time of day, rather than ‘out of hours’ to ensure all technical resources and support are available, and the maximum number of clinical staff are on duty to ensure the safety of all of our patients.

Key points and actions:

• All patients are placed onto a paper observation chart by the start of the early shift.
• Handover information and all previous observations for each patient should be printed out from Nervecentre and kept with the patient’s notes.
• Escalations to Nurse In Charge, Doctors and Outreach will need to be verbal via the telephone/bleep system for that day.
• During the day members of the Nervecentre team will visit each area that uses Nervecentre to upgrade each device. Please make sure all devices are in the charging cabinet on the ward. Please have a look in your bags, at home, in the mess etc. to see if you have any devices, and if so return them to a ward charging cabinet. Any devices not in a charging cabinet at this time will not be upgraded by a member of the team on the day and will not work. Staff will need to contact IT themselves for these devices to be upgraded.  Once the upgrade is complete a member of the Nervecentre team will visit the ward to inform staff that Nervecentre is live again. At this point electronic observations, escalation and handover should be recommenced.
• Prior to the downtime visit to each Nervecentre ward & area will be made to deliver ‘Downtime Packs’ which will contain a check list for actions needed on the day, a reminder of the clinical escalation process for deteriorating patients, and a re-fleshed Business Continuity Plan.

Act now:

1: In order to prepare for this downtime please ensure your area has an ample supply of paper observation charts. These can be obtained from stationery supplies. Your ward clerk will know how to do this.

2: Look out for devices and return them to the correct wards.

Thank you for your co-operation.

For further information please contact sal.uka@cht.nhs.uk, Catherine.Briggs@cht.nhs.uk, Diana.firth@cht.nhs.uk , Annette.Burnby@cht.nhs.uk or Ruth.Lush@this.nhs.uk

Kind regards

Dr Sal Uka