West Lancashire trust optimises EPR to improve abdomen pathway

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) has embedded national clinical guidance into its Altera Digital Health electronic patient record (EPR) to optimise the Acute Abdomen Pathway.

National Emergency Laparotomy Audit (NELA) guidance has been integrated into the Sunrise EPR, contributing to improvements in patient outcomes, operational efficiency and quality of care.

Reported results include 100% compliance with Acute Abdomen Pathway documentation standards, full completion of age and complex medicine reviews and critical care outreach team reviews for high-risk patients, and an increase in urgent CT scans reported within one hour from 41% to 76%.

Petro Bekker, chief nurse information officer and associate director of clinical informatics at WWL, said: “The digital transformation of our Acute Abdomen Pathway within the Sunrise EPR platform has demonstrated improved compliance with best practice documentation and guidance, prompting the clinician to follow the protocol based on the patient’s presentation.

“By streamlining critical processes and making them intuitive for clinicians, we’ve seen tangible improvements in patient care, from faster CT reporting to comprehensive geriatric reviews.”

WWL said its Acute Abdomen Pathway had previously relied on paper processes, with limited use and inconsistent communication contributing to delays and variation in care.

The updated system provides decision support at the point of care by presenting NELA guidance and recommended actions.

It also enables one-click CT ordering, incorporates NELA mortality risk scoring, prioritises urgent scans through radiology integration, and supports referrals to specialist teams including age and complex medicine and critical care outreach.

Dr Andrew Starkie, accident and emergency consultant at WWL, said: “Embedding the pathway into our ED electronic patient record has substantially improved how we assess patients with an acute abdomen, enabling better risk stratification and more effective organisation of ongoing care.”

Future plans include expanding the NELA nurse role to enhance recovery and patient feedback. The initiative has already won ‘Best Audit and Quality Improvement’ at the trust’s Clinical Audit Best Practice event.

Mark Hutchinson, executive vice president at Altera Digital Health (UK & EMEA), said: “We are incredibly proud to partner with Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on their digital transformation journey.

“Their success in leveraging the flexibility of the Sunrise EPR platform to embed NELA guidance is a powerful example of how a configurable digital health solution adds value.

“This approach streamlines workflows, maximises productivity and crucially enhances patient safety and outcomes, empowering trusts to drive impactful, tailored change.”

Altera Digital Health’s presence in the NHS is expanding. In March, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust and Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust awarded contracts to the supplier to implement EPR systems.

The 10-year contracts aim to improve patient flow across Greater Manchester and support wider digital transformation plans.