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Gordon Murray Automotive
13 May 2025
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The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

Digitising patient records has transformed clinical care and excellence at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust.

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The Benefits

Faster access to documents has saved clinician time and enabled resource reallocation

Administrative workload decreased as records became instantly accessible.

Previously time-consuming processes, like searching through paper files, are now streamlined, freeing staff for direct patient-facing activities. This has led to a reduced administrative workload, improved access to vital information and enhanced clinical safety, which in turn has improved patient satisfaction.

Redeploying workers has allowed trust to clear backlog of referrals

The efficiencies the Trust has achieved from digitisation enabled it to redeploy medical records staff to the Patient Access Centre, through which patients referred into the hospital are processed.

As a result, the Trust has fully cleared its backlog of 5,000 patients for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. It is now registering new patients on arrival to the hospital, something it has not achieved over the past five years.

More efficient use of space has transformed the clinician and patient experience

Digitisation freed considerable onsite spaces across the trust that were previously occupied by physical records and therefore could not be used to benefit either clinicians or patients.

These areas are being repurposed into communal spaces to give staff space to take a well-deserved break and relax with colleagues, improving welfare and reducing clinician burnout.

Digitisation has provided support for broader digital transformation

Insights from scanned document volumes are now informing future digital initiatives and priorities, like digitising nursing workflows and intensive care unit records, supporting the Trust’s strategic digital roadmap.

Digitisation has enhanced sustainability and reduced compliance risk

Digitisation reduced reliance on paper, directly supporting NHS sustainability goals outlined in the NHS Green Plan. Additionally, it eliminated compliance risks associated with unsafe physical storage.
 

The Background

The Walton Centre is a major neuroscience NHS hospital located in Liverpool. It is the only standalone specialist hospital trust in the UK dedicated to providing comprehensive neurology, neurosurgery, spinal and pain management services. 

With the help of Apogee Corporation and its secure document scanning and data capture services, The Walton Centre has successfully digitised 95% (to date) of its patient records, with the remainder underway, leading to significant improvements in clinical efficiency, patient safety, and staff deployment. The removal of paper records has contributed to the Trust’s critical sustainability goals, addressed some of the organisations patient safety risks, while freeing up crucial space on-site for staff use and informing future digital transformation projects. 

 

The Challenge

Back in 2019, a Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspection highlighted The Walton Centre’s mix of paper and digital patient records as a clinical risk. The location of physical case notes was often not being tracked, therefore, it was difficult for clinicians to access complete patient information during appointments and when making important decisions about care.  

Despite multiple internal attempts to transition fully to digital records, the Trust encountered a number of logistical, technical, and financial barriers. Concerns ranged from managing large-scale scanning to data governance and the potential inability to use the records effectively once digitised. 

The use of physical records also presented space and compliance challenges. Accommodating new paper-based patient data was increasingly problematic. Records were stored across the site, including in unsafe areas such as corridors and loft spaces, which was identified as an increased fire risk. With the NHS Green Plan also pushing for paper-light operations by 2026 as part of a drive towards sustainable practices, the need for change was mounting. 

nhs manager rummaging through patient records
female-worker-of-storage room scanning packed envelope

The Solution 

In the latter half of 2023, the trust conducted a rigorous tender process and assessed four providers, during which Apogee stood out for its technical capabilities and flexible, collaborative approach. The Apogee team visited the site to understand the challenges first-hand, invested in a proof-of-concept project, demonstrating robust, secure management of sensitive patient records and ensuring the Trust was comfortable with a potential partnership before any contracts were signed.  

Benchmarked against the other providers, Apogee also scored highest in quality, cost, responsiveness, and time-to-completion metrics.  

After being awarded the contract, Apogee implemented a secure system to begin digitising The Walton Centre’s paper patient records. Each record was tracked from collection to scanning for full visibility. This process included securely boxing and barcoding physical records for real-time tracking of each box from site to a scanning centre.  All scanned documents were then seamlessly integrated into the trust’s electronic patient record (EPR) system. Apogee’s skilled coding team created an audit trail for each document and conducted thorough quality assurance checks, while ensuring BS10008 compliance throughout.

Apogee supported both the digitisation of the Trust’s medical records and the implementation of an in-house scanning facility incorporating both legacy and end of episode scanning, thereby delivering sustainability of digital patient records, while further enhancing the clinical user experience.  

The new in-house scanning facility allows any new paper generated in the trust to be made available on the EPR within seven days of the patient’s discharge. Powered by AI and ML capabilities, this documentation is automatically catalogued and searchable, enabling clinicians to easily access patient medical information, saving them time and significantly improving the accuracy of medical processes.  

“Due to previous tracking issues caused by the combination of physical and digital files, The Walton Centre team were understandably concerned about the potential consequences of case notes being transported across the country for scanning – particularly if they were needed at short-notice to support a patient, for example.

Part of the proof-of-concept stage involved securely boxing and barcoding a set of eight records so they could be fully tracked at all times with supporting software. We implemented an audit trail at every stage to ensure peace-of-mind.” 

Mark McManus, Regional Sales Director, Apogee Corporation 

Across the entire digitisation process, Apogee was able to reassure The Walton Centre that it was fully protecting patient data through its International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and British Standards (BS) accreditations. Apogee’s adherence to these standards encompasses all aspects of both physical and digital security in transit and at rest. 

As McManus explains: “The first step is ensuring that we have the most up-to-date patient metadata and we do this by linking with the trust’s patient administration system (PAS) to ensure all paper records match the patient ID at every stage of the process”. 

The Outcome 

95% of patient records have now been scanned and digitised. This has enabled clinicians to rapidly retrieve vital patient data, including medical histories, previous treatments and medical device information. Previously labour-intensive processes, like searching through paper files, are now streamlined, reducing admin workload, improving access to vital information and enhancing clinical safety.  

This has allowed The Walton Centre to save so much time that it has enabled them to redeploy medical records staff to support other departments, contributing to enhanced operational efficiencies and a faster flow of patients into the hospital.  

By enabling patients to be seen faster and allowing clinicians to instantly draw on the latest up-to-date clinical records, the digitisation process has contributed to a better patient experience.  

dark blue clip art circuits digital files document

The move also supports NHS sustainability targets by reducing the need for paper document creation, and physical case note storage, helping the Trust reach its goal of become ‘paper light’ by 2026 and increase the digital maturity of the organisation in line with the NHS Digital Strategy.   

Equally, the digitisation process has helped free up space for vital staff facilities at the Trust.  The Walton Centre is now planning to repurpose one of its rooms previously used as storage into a communal staff room and it has also allowed the Trust to consider using previously occupied estate for growing services, such as thrombectomy stroke interventions.  

Sam Holman, Head of Transformation and Corporate Operations at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust, paid tribute to the role of Apogee in partnering with the Trust and delivering these outcomes. 

Apogee has been an exceptional partner in our digital transformation journey.
Their approach has been seamless and professional, and they've consistently demonstrated themselves to be more than just a supplier - they're an integrated extension of our team.

Due to the complexities of the digitalisation process and sheer volume of paper records we had within the Trust, we were naturally nervous about undertaking this project. But whenever we've encountered challenges, Apogee has responded with expertise and commitment, providing solutions that have truly supported our operational objectives.

They have always made us feel safe and assured that we would accomplish what we set out to do." 

Sam Holman, Head of Transformation and Corporate Operations at The Walton Centre NHS Foundation Trust

man checking audit trail

The Future 

Following the digitisation of existing case records, The Walton Centre implemented a streamlined process for scanning new documents. Following scanning on-site, items are processed through a number of quality assurance checks, both internally and from Apogee, before moving into the EPR system. 

Moving forward, Apogee will help the Trust to track which documents are being scanned most frequently, such as PMP assessments or fluid balance charts, and use that insight to prioritise which forms to digitise within the EPR next.  

Looking further ahead, the project’s success has prompted additional digital initiatives across the Trust, including the optimisation of nursing workflows based on Apogee’s solution. This ensures future digital transformations remain strategically aligned and patient-focused.  

Do you need support with your own digitisation project? Contact us now by using the form below.

How We Can Help

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