A new electronic patient record (EPR) called Hive, powered by software company Epic, has gone live across Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT).

Hive will provide a single, trust-wide hospital record for every patient, streamlining hundreds of varied existing systems across hospitals, departments and services.

Having all patient information held in one place will mean that patients do not need to repeat their details across different departments and services, creating a smoother experience for everyone.

Patients will also have more control over their own care through a dedicated online patient portal and phone app called MyMFT. This will provide access to healthcare information about their care across MFT sites and services including information on appointments, test results and more.

Julia Bridgewater, group chief operating officer and Hive senior responsible officer at MFT, said: “I’m delighted to announce that Hive is now live across MFT. Hive will transform how we are able to work together across departments and professions to best care for our patients.

“Hive is the result of a huge amount of hard work from across every department in our trust, and so I’d like to say a massive thank you to everyone involved in getting it up and running.

“Hive is an ongoing programme of transformation. Our journey will now continue, as we refine the system, roll out new and improved features and continue to improve how we care for patients.”

The new EPR is powered by Epic and has been rolled out following a deal agreed back in May 2020 between the software company and MFT. It will mean improvements in clinical quality, patient safety, patient and staff experience, and operational effectiveness across the trust, whilst also driving new opportunities for research and innovation.

MFT is the largest NHS trust in the country with its 10 hospitals home to 28,000 staff, making the EPR solution one of the biggest and most ambitious transformation projects in the history of the NHS.

Dr Tim Ferris, NHS director for transformation, said: “This bold project will revolutionise patient care and staff experience across 10 hospitals, demonstrating the transformative potential of electronic patient record systems.

“We are supporting many more hospitals across the country to follow in Manchester’s footsteps, and today we offer our congratulations to all involved in this launch and the hard work that’s ongoing to ensure its success.”

MFT is not the only trust to have gone live with an Epic EPR this year. Both Frimley Health and Royal Devon University Healthcare NHS Foundation Trusts went live with Epic EPRs in June and July respectively.