Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust has successfully gone live with its Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration (EPMA) system provided by System C in the Paediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU).
This marks a significant milestone as it enhances Sheffield Children’s commitment to improving patient safety and clinical efficiency for critically ill children. CareFlow Medicines Management (CMM) has been configured by Sheffield Children’s to meet the complexities involved in paediatric care, such as addressing the unique medication dosage requirements for children of varying ages and weights.
Karen Bourne, Lead EPMA Pharmacist at Sheffield Children’s said: "PCCU is a challenging area to implement CareFlow Medicines Management (CMM) because of the urgency of medication requirements on the Unit. By standardising prescriptions, utilising pre-admission functionality and protocols, we are able to reduce risks associated with medication prescribing and administration. The implementation also removes the need to transcribe between paper and the electronic system as children are transferred to and from PCCU.”
The team carried out workshops and simulations to engage and support PCCU staff, in preparation for the transition.
Janet Dodd, Chief Nursing Information Officer (CNIO) at Sheffield Children’s, emphasised the importance of hands-on support: "Being visible and accessible to users during the implementation has been crucial for our success. PCCU staff felt safe during the rollout because they could turn and see a member of the project team ready to help in a bright blue t-shirt. A dedicated phone line was also available to staff outside of regular support hours. Superusers familiar with EPMA from other wards also worked alongside their PCCU colleagues to ease the transition.”
Since the implementation of CareFlow Medicines Management (CMM) in September 2023 across other areas of the hospital, Sheffield Children’s has seen significant improvements in medicines optimisation. As of now, over 16,000 patients have received enhanced care with more than 180,000 medicines successfully prescribed through the system. Staff are embracing the new system and have fed back that the use of medicine protocols in particular has optimised prescribing and administration processes.
Nick Wilson, CEO of System C, said: "Implementing electronic prescribing at Sheffield Children's is about improving patient safety. By reducing paper drug charts, we can provide clinicians with real-time information visible from anywhere at Sheffield Children’s on a patient's medicines throughout their stay, giving healthcare teams more time to focus on direct care. This digital transformation not only improves medicine safety but helps staff to work smarter, creating a more efficient hospital that delivers better care for children."
The successful launch in the Paediatric Critical Care Unit is part of Sheffield Children’s commitment to provide better care to patients and its ongoing digital journey. Following this rollout, the Trust plans to implement the EPMA system in additional areas, such as outpatient departments, and collaborate with System C to expand the critical care functionality to allow pediatric continuous drug infusions.
