James Paget Hospital boosts safety and outcomes with MetaVision

About the Hospital

James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides acute and specialist care to the populations of east Norfolk and north-east Suffolk, UK. The Trust delivers a wide range of hospital and community services, including emergency and critical care, general surgery and medicine, maternity, and pediatrics. As a 500-bed university hospital, part of the regional NHS network, James Paget Hospital plays an important role in clinical education and research, supporting the development of future healthcare professionals.

The challenge

By 2015, James Paget Hospital had been using its first digital clinical information system for more than a decade. During that time, the critical care environment had evolved, with new medical technologies, updated medication protocols, and changes in clinical procedures placing greater demands on the unit’s IT infrastructure. The existing system could no longer meet the expectations defined by the team. They needed a platform that could keep pace with evolving clinical practice.

The hospital entered a comprehensive procurement process with a clear understanding of what its next system had to deliver. Clinicians required a solution that aligned with detailed specifications, strengthened patient safety, and supported high-quality documentation across the unit.

The team also recognized the importance of a smooth transition for users familiar with digital workflows. They sought a system that would build on their existing experience and give them tools to refine how care was supported and documented.

The solution

James Paget Hospital selected MetaVision as the system that best met its clinical, technical, and operational requirements.

The value of MetaVision’s clinician-led design stood out, as did the ability to configure the system independently. The unit needed a platform that could be adjusted as care practices evolved, and MetaVision provided the tools to modify documentation structures and workflow elements in response to changing clinical requirements. This capability helped ensure the system continued to reflect how care was delivered in the ICU.

Implementation involved close collaboration with IMDsoft’s support team, who remained responsive as the system was configured to meet local needs. The partnership helped ensure the platform was grounded in the critical care unit’s clinical priorities and able to develop as practice evolved.

The results

Since adopting MetaVision, James Paget’s ICU has seen a meaningful shift in how information is managed across the unit. “The move to MetaVision has been transformative,” says Rebecca Piggott, Senior Sister, James Paget NHS University Trust. “Patient information is consistently accessible even after discharge, which allows us to better support our colleagues through the wider hospital system.”

Issues like illegible handwriting or misplaced paper notes, which had persisted even with the previous clinical information system, have been eliminated, giving the team a clearer and more reliable foundation for reviewing care. Rebecca notes: “Our team is deeply committed to continuously enhancing the quality of patient documentation to support the delivery of safe, efficient and high-quality care, and iMDsoft help us to do this on an organizational level.”

The unit also reports that MetaVision supports wider collaboration across the hospital and the broader MetaVision user community. Access to detailed, reliable information has strengthened communication with colleagues, and participation in the wider user network has created opportunities for shared learning and ongoing innovation.

Additional improvements described by the team include:

• A smoother workflow during daily practice, supported by easily accessible and reliable information.
• The flexibility to introduce and refine local standards as clinical practice evolves.
• Greater ability to embed safety standards within the record, with configurable components that define required fields and guide staff through key procedural steps.
• Improved support for internal reviews and audits, as staff can search patient records and retrieve relevant information without needing a dedicated audit tool.

Looking ahead, the hospital views MetaVision as an important part of its future digital landscape. As its three local NHS trusts move toward a unified electronic patient record, the ICU sees MetaVision as a key component in delivering consistent, high-quality care across the region.

“One of the most valuable features of MetaVision from a clinical perspective is as a highly responsive customization tool. We are also able to rapidly address both actual and potential patient safety issues by modifying relevant components of the system, helping us reduce risk and improve outcomes.”
Rebecca Piggott, Senior Sister, James Paget NHS University Trust