If a patient's Next of Kin (NOK) information isn't added for each encounter in EPR, it means we struggle to contact bereaved relatives to offer them support, at a time when they may really need it, or if there are issues on the ward. It also means we can't fulfil our Duty of Candour obligations, which is a risk to our finances.  Our guidance and SOP should help colleagues log the information, either on admission or during their stay.

It is a key priority of the End Of Life Care strategy to offer support for our bereaved relatives. And if the information isn't logged we are unable to deliver Duty of Candour requirements to NOK for orange and red incident investigations which has a significant financial risk attached to it.

Info and guidance

• NOK is recorded at an encounter, not at person level, which means it must be completed for each encounter. This was a clinical decision made after some cases where the hospital had been trying to contact the NOK and the NOK had passed away without the information not being updated.
• If a colleague cannot see NOK, they need to ensure they are in the correct encounter (see attached)
• Best practice is to enter NOK information at the registration/admission stage in the demographics area of the EPR conversation. This then transfers the information to Powerchart. 
• If however this is missed, it can always be added at any point in the encounter using SOP: Revision Inpatient Admission, CHB-IP-DQ02