NHS Trust looks to develop local e-records system after national pilot failure

Parliament recently slammed NHS attempts to create a shared e-records system

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Trust is seeking to procure an information system that will see electronic patient records created and used by staff throughout the organisation.

The trust estimates that the new system could cost up to £2m, according to an online public tender.

This follows a recent failed pilot by the trust of e-records software Lorenzo, one of the central e-records systems promoted by the National Programme for IT.

Parliament this week slammed the Department of Health's attempts to create an electronic care records system, which aimed to make a single record of every patient accessible across the NHS.

The report released by Parliament recommended that the project be scrapped altogether as it is fragmented, late and over budget.

However, a spokesperson for the trust said that NHS organisations still need to develop an e-record systems, although a shared network of patient records is being put on the back burner.

"While the government is not pursuing a centrally imposed IT system, it is quite clear that all local trusts need an electronic record system of their own," said the spokesperson.

"This system is not going to be shared with other trusts; it is for our own use. If you think about the scale – the hugeness of the NHS – it is pretty difficult to implement a shared scheme.

"We were piloting the Lorenzo system [the recently criticised NHS patient record system], but that fell over. We are now going to replace this with one we are more confident about."

The tender highlights that any solution must integrate seamlessly with the trust's current systems. It will also have to include an integrated software and application solution that supports clinicians with additional clinical information to enable best practice and evidence-based care.

The trust will host a suppliers' day on 2 September 2011, during which it will outline its requirements to potential partners.