York and Scarborough Hospitals integrate ICU systems with MetaVision

About the Trust

York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust provides acute and specialist services to around 800,000 people across York, North Yorkshire and the East Coast. The Trust operates nine hospitals, with York Hospital and Scarborough Hospital serving as its main acute sites and as teaching hospitals affiliated with Hull York Medical School. Together, they deliver comprehensive emergency and critical care, supported by strong clinical education and research activity. There are 32 ICU beds across the two hospitals

The challenge

Previously, the Trust managed its critical care units with paper records and a mix of standalone hospital systems. Clinicians described the environment as fragmented, with patient reviews and quality-improvement work slowed by manual documentation and incomplete information. Clinicians needed a solution that could consolidate data from multiple devices and monitoring points and give teams a clearer basis for timely decision-making.

Working across two hospitals added further complexity. Each ICU had its own workflows, so the Trust needed a single system that could be adapted easily to varied needs.

The Trust recognized that a hospital-wide electronic patient record was not suited to the complexity and pace of critical care, so it sought a dedicated solution for the department.

The solution

After reviewing alternative clinical information systems, the Trust selected MetaVision, primarily for its clinician- and nursing-led design and its flexibility. As one user explained, they could “customize the system to our exact workflows that we had locally,” accommodating differences between the two sites.

MetaVision’s ability to connect to medical devices was central to the decision. The system worked seamlessly with monitors, ventilators, and other equipment already in place, and it supported new devices as they were introduced.

The result

Since going live with MetaVision in 2022, the Trust has seen clinical and operational benefits across both ICUs. Patient reviews are easier to carry out because information is captured consistently and can be interpreted without relying on paper forms or fragmented systems.

Staff describe MetaVision as well suited to the volume and complexity of data in critical care. Instead of gathering information from multiple paper forms or separate systems, clinicians can view what they need in one place and use it to support timely decisions during patient care. They note that having all relevant details readily available strengthens their ability to focus on the clinical situation at hand.

The move away from paper has also given teams a more complete and reliable record of each patient’s stay. With information collected and presented digitally, staff now have a clearer foundation for reviewing and improving the quality of care.

“A hospital-wide system isn’t suitable for critical care; the amount of data, the complexity of the patients… Using MetaVision enables you to make the right decisions at the right time, putting in all the information you need to make a decision there and then, for the benefit of your patient.”
Dr. Andy Chamberlain, Consultant in Critical Care, York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust