Following a national patient safety alert cautioning trusts about Euroking’s maternity EPR and a June deadline to ensure configurations are safe, more than a dozen NHS trusts have confirmed they are moving or planning to move away from the system.
An alert was issued by NHS England in December 2023, following the discovery of a fault with the Euroking maternity EPR, supplied by Magentus Software.
The alert was issued around identified safety risks related to technical issues within the Euroking system. It identified that information being recorded in the EPR could overwrite previously recorded data – a significant problem that could mislead clinicians and compromise safety.
It was issued as a precautionary measure to safeguard patients’ health and stated there was currently no evidence of actual harm being reported as a result of the issues.
NHSE urged trusts that were using the system – at the time of the alert, around 15 trusts – to “consider if Euroking meets their maternity service’s needs” and to “ensure their local configuration is safe” by June 2024.
Trusts move away from Euroking
The Euroking maternity EPR, also known as E3, is one of the most commonly used EPRs dedicated to maternity services. Before the safety alert, South Tees Hospitals Foundation Trust had made the switch to Badgernet, an alternative maternity EPR, in 2023. Additionally, Hillingdon Hospitals Foundation Trust voided the need for an individual maternity system, when it implemented O’s EPR trust-wide in November 2023.
According to HSJ, 13 of the 15 trusts that were using Euroking at the time of the alert had either already switched to a new provider, or were actively working to do so.
Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals Trust, Salisbury Foundation Trust, Bolton Foundation Trust and Kent and Medway’s four maternity services providers all said they were currently procuring or implementing new maternity information systems as a result of the patient alert.
Norfolk and Norwich University Hospitals Foundation Trust, Stockport Foundation Trust, Tameside and Glossop Foundation Trust and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust all confirmed they were moving away from the flawed system as part of wider EPR implementations that were planned before the alert was issued.
Until new systems are in place, these trusts stated they were working with Euroking and their respective integrated care boards to manage risks and work through the localised impact of the safety alert.
Two trusts – East Cheshire Trust and Wrighton, Wigan and Leigh Foundation Trust did not respond to HSJ’s queries.
A Euroking spokesperson said: “We have identified a solution to the issues raised in the NPSA [alert], which has been shared with NHSE and with our customers.
“We’re now meeting each customer and are working with them individually to support the changes that need to be made based on their local configurations. We will continue working with the trusts to support them meeting the deadline outlined in the NPSA.
“As the NPSA outlined, it has been issued as a precautionary measure and there is no evidence of harm being caused to patients.”