{"id":939553,"date":"2026-10-24T18:44:21","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T18:44:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/939553\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T18:44:21","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T18:44:21","slug":"exclusive-lhd-suspends-implementation-of-single-digital-patient-record","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/939553\/","title":{"rendered":"EXCLUSIVE: LHD suspends implementation of Single Digital Patient Record"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the biggest indication yet that the SDPR rollout is in serious doubt, at least one of the Tranche B LHDs has decided to \u2018scale down\u2019 its implementation activities. <\/p>\n

Northern NSW Local Health District has suspended its implementation of the Single Digital Patient Record in a further sign that the rollout of the Epic-based system is in deep trouble across the state.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In a letter from NNSW LHD\u2019s chief executive Tracey Maisey \u2013 seen by Health Services Daily \u2013 staff were told that, following a thorough review of the LHD\u2019s implementation plan, \u201cwe have determined that it is no longer appropriate\u201d for the District \u201cto continue the local SDPR preparation activities at the current pace\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Originally, Northern NSW LHD was part of Tranche B of the statewide SDPR rollout, due to go live in November, along with Mid North Coast, Northern Sydney, Central Coast, and the rest of the Laboratory Information Management System North network.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

In August<\/a>, after continuing concerns over staff wellbeing and readiness of targeted LHDs, the SDPR Implementation Authority announced the Tranche B implementation would change to a \u201cstaged rollout\u201d beginning with just Northern Beaches Hospital \u2013 administered by Northern Sydney LHD.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Mid North Coast, NNSW, Central Coast and the rest of the NS LHD network were, at the time, postponed until March of 2027.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Now, it seems, even that is in doubt.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOver the past two months we\u2019ve thoroughly reviewed our implementation plan for the SDPR,\u201d wrote Ms Maisey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSince August, when we pivoted away from a go-live this calendar year, our goal has been to continue the majority of SDPR work where possible.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThis included activities such as mapping current work processes against Epic workflows, determining change gaps, testing and readiness activities, and supporting Northern Beaches Hospital with credentialled trainers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this stage, we do not have a revised program timeline for our LHD.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The executives told all staff they were therefore \u201cscaling down\u201d local implementation activities immediately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cOur priority must be to ensure we\u2019re delivering the best care for our patients, while effectively managing our available resources. This includes allocating our staff where they are most needed,\u201d they wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWorkflows are being refined following the Tranche A implementation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve received advice from the Northern Beaches Hospital team that they are largely managing their training in house.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Seconded staff would be returned to their substantive roles, local SDPR working groups would be stood down. Where devices had been purchased, infrastructure and end user device uplift would continue.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI appreciate that this change in direction may be disappointing for staff,\u201d wrote Ms Maisey.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am confident, however, that your efforts have directly assisted in helping not only NNSW LHD, but also the state, in establishing a stronger foundation on which to move forward.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe remain committed to ensuring we deliver a successful and safe transition to SDPR for the benefit of our patients and staff.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Health Services Union told its members that the decision by NNSW LHD represented an \u201copportunity to have a say on how this affects you\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In the biggest indication yet that the SDPR rollout is in serious doubt, at least one of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":939554,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[64,63,32235,137,500,53534,506160,339256,506161],"class_list":["post-939553","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-digital-health","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-interoperability","tag-northern-nsw-lhd","tag-sdpria","tag-spdr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939553","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939553"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939553\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/939554"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939553"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939553"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939553"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}