QVH wins national award for Archie EPR go-live

Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (QVH) and Altera Digital Health have won a national Health Tech Award for the successful implementation of the hospital’s electronic patient record (EPR), Archie EPR.

The partnership was named winner of the Major Project Go Live category at the Health Tech Awards 2026.

Archie EPR went live across QVH in November 2025, marking the biggest digital transformation programme in the Trust’s history and replacing many paper-based processes with a single electronic patient record.

The new system was introduced without a reduction in activity or any outpatient clinics or theatre procedures being cancelled as a result of the programme.

A major focus was preparing and supporting staff for the change. By go-live, 97% of staff had completed their training, while 120 Digital Champions from across QVH provided peer-to-peer support, alongside a central Command Centre and 24/7 support during the first weeks.

Tamara Everington, Managing Director and Senior Responsible Officer for the Archie EPR programme at QVH, said: “We are incredibly proud to receive this award. Introducing new ways of digital working into the NHS requires a huge amount of attention to detail and co-ordinated teamwork and it is not easy to deliver this well.

We knew that we had to deliver Archie EPR with all the benefits that brought, whilst also sustaining the safe and effective care our patients have come to expect. The dedication and commitment shown by our staff and colleagues across the NHS in helping us deliver successfully illustrates the NHS at its absolute best.

“People across the Trust put a huge amount into preparing for go-live, learning a new system and supporting one another through those first few weeks. Our Digital Champions in particular were brilliant in helping to support people who found the change difficult. They worked alongside our EPR team, clinical leaders and colleagues from Altera to help achieve our shared success.

“There is still lots more we want to do with Archie, but this is a lovely opportunity to stop, recognise what we achieved together and say thank you to everyone who played a part.”

Within the first six months following go-live, almost 100,000 clinical documents had been created digitally, more than 87,000 medicines administered electronically and more than 834,000 sheets of paper avoided.

Mark Hutchinson, Executive Vice President, Altera Digital Health (UK & EMEA), said: “Congratulations to everyone at Queen Victoria Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on this fantastic and well-deserved achievement. Winning the Major Project Go-Live award is recognition of the dedication, collaboration and careful planning that underpinned the Trust’s successful EPR implementation.

“Achieving a go-live with no disruption to patient care, no loss of productivity and such high levels of staff adoption is a remarkable accomplishment. We are proud to be partnering with QVH on its digital transformation journey.”

Archie was named by QVH staff in honour of pioneering plastic surgeon Sir Archibald McIndoe, whose work at the hospital during the Second World War transformed the treatment and rehabilitation of badly burned aircrew. The name reflects QVH’s proud history of innovation, as the Trust continues to develop Archie and its wider digital programme.