New IT system going live 5 Oct at Guy’s , St Thomas’ and King’s ,some short term delays for non urgent tests and results

[intexasatthe moment]

Came across this 

Intro of new IT https://selondonccg.nhs.uk/what-we-do/epic-implementation-2023/

and found it interesting , especially this extract from advice To Gps 

file:///media/fuse/drivefs-23422b7b853ebb5ad1dbceed2c9c361b/root/Apollo-overview-for-GPs-KCH-and-GSTT.pdf

In line with other Trusts who have launched new, large-scale electronic health records, both Guy’s and St Thomas’ and King’s are planning to reduce the amount of routine, planned care activity we carry out in the run up to, during, and after go-live of the Epic system. Urgent and emergency activity will be running at normal levels. - This will help ensure the system launches successfully, with minimum impact on the care we provide for patients. However, we do appreciate this will mean extended waiting times for some patients on the waiting list for routine planned care, and further information will follow ahead of launch detailing how this will be managed at both Trusts in a way that keeps the impact on patients to a minimum. - Synnovis is also planning delays to the processing of routine tests while they embed the new Epic system. More detail on this – including the potential impact on GPs requesting tests – will also be provided in due course.

and this

Pathology activity in GP practices should be reduced to 10% from October 5 to October 9. During this time only urgent pathology requests will be processed. Following this period, routine pathology activity will increase each day over a period of two weeks until normal levels resume. We will continue to keep you informed as we progress.

You will be able to order tests but you will need to ask patients not to book tests before October 9 as they cannot be processed by the laboratory. It is important not to take routine blood or urine samples from patients during this time. Please note that samples cannot be stored, either at the practice or the laboratory, because they will degrade. As you undertake your planning we request that you divert resources or appointments between October 5 to October 9 for other activity such as cervical smears or vaccinations.

Urgent samples will continue to be processed and some community and non-urgent services which will continue as normal. 

from  https://selondonccg.nhs.uk/what-we-do/epic-implementation-2023/

I've used the expression "short term delay" because I was trying not to be alarmist. Given the pressure on the NHS,I feel any delay will have a ripple effect and cause delays down the road.

[Sue]

Well, given that their whole IT system went down for ?weeks? not so long ago, I can't help but feel that any temporary delays due to installing a new system are preferable to that happening again ....

If what I was told then is right, nobody could access patients' information or medical records, and  nobody knew who had an appointment when, or who it was with, or what it was for.

I think test results weren't available either, though I may be wrong.

It was chaos. I was just thankful my appointment was for something relatively minor, though I was taken aback to be asked why I was there .... 

Edited August 23, 2023 by Sue
Adding info

[intexasatthe moment]

Oh gosh Sue that sounds worrying. How on earth do the poor staff cope I wonder. And the poor patients.

What an old fuddy duddy I feel , being surprised by how important technology is and our dependence on it .

Ah well, glad I'm not a policeman in NI.