How Clinical Champions Accelerated EPR Adoption at Queen Victoria Hospital
When NHS organisations reflect on successful EPR implementations, the story often focuses on systems, suppliers and timelines. At Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH), the decisive factor was people. A strong network of clinical champions and super users helped translate a major digital transformation project into confident, safe, day-to-day clinical practice.
In November 2025, QVH went live with its first electronic patient record, the Altera Digital Health Sunrise™ platform, branded locally as Archie EPR. It was part of a move for the Trust from heavily paper-based working to a single, integrated patient record, while maintaining patient safety and operational performance, including across high-pressure areas such as the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU), theatres and inpatient wards.
High-pressured Care and Paper-heavy Processes
QVH is a leading specialist centre for reconstruction and sleep and also provides essential healthcare services for local people. It supports more than 227,000 patient visits each year. Prior to go-live, clinical teams relied on paper notes and multiple standalone digital systems. Accessing patient information often involved duplication, manual transcription and delays, increasing workload and risk in time-critical settings.
Digital confidence varied across roles and services, and there was a real concern that staff might revert to paper or develop workarounds during busy periods. The Trust recognised early that a successful go-live would depend on embedding digital capability within clinical teams, not relying solely on central support.
Building a Network of Super Users
QVH established a network of around 120 Digital Champions, representing almost ten per cent of its workforce. These ‘super users’ came from nursing, medical, Allied Healthcare Professionals (AHP), Health Care Assistants (HCA) and administrative roles. Their enthusiasm and willingness to support the largest digital transformation project the Trust had even undertaken was arguably more important than technical expertise alone.
They were involved early in workflow design, system testing and training, ensuring Archie EPR reflected real clinical practice. This early engagement helped build ownership and ensured the system supported how care is delivered across the Trust.
During go-live, Digital Champions provided visible, at-the-elbow support in their own teams. They reinforced agreed digital workflows, acted as a first point of help for colleagues and fed issues and optimisation opportunities directly back to the EPR programme team and Altera. With strong backing from senior clinical leaders, digital change was positioned clearly as a clinical responsibility, not an IT task.
Impact From Day One
The Digital Champion model enabled rapid and confident adoption. Training completion of all staff who needed to access Archie EPR for their role reached 97% by go-live day, well above national targets. In the first week alone, clinicians created thousands of digital clinical documents and issued thousands of electronic prescriptions using the Altera platform.
Critically, this happened without disrupting care. MIU teams achieved around 90% digital working while maintaining 99.5% performance against the four-hour standard.
The Trust can be proud of the fact that there were no cancelled clinics, no cancelled theatre lists and no loss of productivity during go-live. This is rare for an EPR launch.
Paper use reduced sharply from day one. Within months, nearly 100,000 clinical documents had been created digitally and more than 800,000 sheets of paper avoided, delivering efficiency, safety and sustainability benefits. Staff feedback consistently highlighted increased confidence, supported by trusted peers who understood both the system and the realities of frontline care.
Why Super Users Matter
QVH’s experience reinforces a simple lesson which is that ‘super users’ are most effective when they are recognised and supported as clinical leaders. By embedding digital expertise within teams, the Trust reduced reliance on central support and created a sustainable foundation for ongoing optimisation.
As Archie EPR continues to evolve and support new pathways, deeper integration and patient-facing services, super users remain central to turning EPR implementation into long-term value.
Digital transformation succeeds when technology supports clinicians, and when clinicians are empowered to lead the change.
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Tamara Everington, Chief Medical Officer at Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
