A new health service for Liverpool

Liverpool PCT has implemented EMIS Web to share data between different healthcare teams, to increase patient safety and improve patient care.

Extended services across the region now have sight of up to date patient information from the GP record – such as allergies, current medication and known healthcare problems.

Extended healthcare teams can make informed decisions about patient care; reducing any margin for error, saving time and making sure patients are given the appropriate treatment from the start. It saves time for GPs too - up to 30 hours per week can be saved by GP practices across the region not needing to fax patient summaries to services.

For each service, a template enables clinicians to record consultation notes, which can be viewed by the patient’s registered GP. Dr Simon Bowers, joint injection provider and IM&T Lead for Liverpool PCT, says:

“EMIS Web enables access to information in a format that is easy to use. It has helped to standardise the quality of referrals and we can now give patients the convenience of being able to choose a provider for the services.”

Joint injections

One shadow commissioning consortium in Liverpool can potentially save up to £400 per joint injection since redesigning the service and implementing EMIS Web. For patients this means a choice to visit one of nine joint injection providers, run by GP practices.

Anti-coagulation service

Anti-coagulant checks are being run by a secondary care nurse at a practice so patients no longer have to visit the Royal Liverpool Hospital. Patient satisfaction with this service is extremely high, with one patient stating: “This scheme has changed my life.”

Minor surgery

Patients receiving treatment from the city-wide minor surgery service have seen their waiting times slashed from nine months to one day in some cases. Dr Bowers says that the service is now so efficient that “20 minutes after patients have been referred by their GP, they get a call to arrange their appointment.”

Acute Medical Unit

Patient discharges from the Acute Medical Unit are much quicker now that staff are using EMIS Web - between two and four hours a day are saved by not having to contact practices for vital patient information. This means an additional two patients can be treated per two hour session.”

Community matrons

52 community matrons treating patients with long term conditions now benefit from access to GP medical records. One matron explains: “This is a major development to help us in our day to day jobs seeing patients. It is essential to inform safe clinical practice.” Significant time is saved by community matrons not having to contact or visit practices, enabling them to spend more time with patients.

PCT-wide search and reports

Primary care information data collection processes have been modernised and streamlined with the introduction of EMIS Web. The PCT is able to run remote searches across GP practices that use EMIS, rather than staff collecting this data individually by visiting practices. The result is a number of key benefits including improved quality of data for analysis that can then be presented back to GP practices in real time; a wider range of information can be collected for analysis and reporting on a more frequent basis; and reductions in travel time and costs, which allow staff resources to be used more effectively and efficiently.

Further information

For more information about upgrading from an existing EMIS system, please contact us on 0845 123 4455 or email .

For information on moving to EMIS from another clinical system, please contact us on 0845 125 5536 or email .

 I am able to view patients’ records before visiting to update myself of any changes

Susan Tay, community matron for patients in their homes, Liverpool Community Health