Royal Berks Finances Hit By Cerner's Millennium

[UK's] Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust is facing significant operational and financial pressures after implementing Cerner Millennium and expects to spend another £6.2m implementing the system this year. The trust went live with the electronic patient record system in June last year, more than 1,000 days from project start-up.

A brief presented to the trust’s most recent Council of Governors meeting reveals that implementation costs are expected to be £6.2m in 2013, against a budget of £2.5m. Chief executive Ed Donald’s briefing said the increased costs were due to significant data correction being required each month and an increased number of patient administration staff being needed to run the system.

“The level of issues the trust faces, having implemented Cerner Millenium, is a significant drain on management capacity, despite robust risk mitigation plans,” the briefing document says. This quarter, the trust is focusing on implementing a Millennium stabilisation plan to “address the problems in respect of the ability of the trust to keep up with patient appointments, and to accurately record activity, income and performance in respect of key targets whilst minimising cost,” the report to governors says...