Earlier today, Saturday 9 July, we went live with our new electronic patient record, Epic, across Northern Devon.

Suzanne Tracey, Chief Executive Officer for the Royal Devon said: "This is a huge digital milestone for our Trust. Having gone live with Epic across our Eastern services in October 2020, we will now be able to improve the experience for all of our staff, patients and carers, as all the information about our patients will now be in one secure place.

"Our core services cover more than 2,000 square miles across Devon. With Epic, it doesn’t matter if you visit our two acute hospitals, 17 community hospitals or community or specialist care services, or if your care is provided where you live – your care will be better joined-up and you won’t need to repeat the same information to different members of staff.

"In addition, Epic will help us to better mitigate the rurality of our local area through enhanced clinician sharing and virtual clinical input. For example, a shared patient record means that somebody who lives in Lynton could have a medication review with a consultant in Exeter remotely, saving them a long journey and improving their experience of our services.

"I’d like to reassure people that paper communications will still be available for patients who might be concerned about using new technology, or who don’t have access to a smart device.

"On behalf of our Board of Directors, I’d like to thank all my colleagues who have worked to make this transformation possible."