Frimley Health has officially secured HIMSS EMRAM Stage 6 an outstanding achievement which places us among seven NHS organisations to have reached this level of Electronic Medical Record digital maturity in the country.

HIMSS EMRAM (Healthcare Information and Management Systems Electronic Medical Record Adoption Model) is an international standard that looks at how well hospitals use digital systems to support patient care. To reach Stage 6 shows Frimley Health to be digitally advanced, both nationally and internationally.

Following an external assessment on 12 June, HIMSS assessors awarded Frimley Health Stage 6 (out of a possible 7), highlighting the strength of the trust’s digital infrastructure and, most importantly, how staff are using it daily to improve patient outcomes.

HIMSS assessors spent the day discussing the trust’s organisational overview, digital strategy and governance to find out how our systems support the delivery of care. They then visited various clinical areas, including; pharmacy, ICU, our labs department and Blood Transfusion Service (BTS), ward S2, Emergency Department, radiology & outpatients 1 to find out how staff use the digital systems in the real time.

The trust was highly commended for its Connected Care work and for the governance work of our Divisional Digital Clinical Leads (DDCL) in delivering our digital and strategic plans. 

Caroline Hutton, Deputy Chief Executive and Executive Lead for Digital Services, said: “Reaching Stage 6 is a major milestone for Frimley Health. It acknowledges that alongside our Electronic Patient Record (EPR), our digital systems and clinical technologies are embedded in everyday clinical practice to support safe, high-quality patient care across the trust. This not only recognises how our people are embracing digital ways of working, but also how it improves outcomes for our patients.”

“Although this makes us one of the most digitally mature trusts in the country, we’re not stopping here. Our digital journey continues as we work towards the seventh, and final stage of the HIMSS digital maturity framework. This next stage is about using digital systems effectively, driving continuous improvement, enhancing patient experience and showing how together they consistently transform care at scale.

“Achieving Stage 7 will be transformational for the trust, fulfilling a major component of our digital strategy to be ‘a digitally mature, smart and inclusive organisation, delivering high-quality care that is equitable, proactive and person-centred’ by 2030.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Digital teams for all their hard work in getting Frimley Health to where we are, as well as to all our clinical, operational and corporate teams for embracing technology in their every-day work to better support our patients. 

“As our digital strategy says, ‘Together, we are building a digitally confident and capable workforce that is equipped not just to adapt to change, but to lead it.’ This has been a massive undertaking, thank you to everyone involved”

John Rayner, HIMSS Senior Director EMEA, says of Frimley Health: “Particularly impressive [is] the multidisciplinary management model supporting each division, with dedicated leadership from an operational manager, human resources partner, finance partner and information professional. This integrated approach (centrally employed – locally deployed) is widely regarded as best practice, ensuring that clinical leaders have access to the expertise and data required to make informed decisions across workforce, financial, operational and digital domains. By embedding information professionals within divisional leadership teams, Frimley Health is well positioned to support data-driven decision-making, performance management and continuous improvement. The model demonstrates a strong commitment to devolved leadership, organisational agility and the effective alignment of clinical, operational and digital strategies to improve patient outcomes and service delivery.”