Community and Continuity During Patient Safety Reporting Change

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust | DCIQ Incidents Module

Summary

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) is a large and complex NHS organisation managing a broad range of acute and specialist services. 

The Trust implemented the DCIQ Incidents Module alongside the introduction of the national Learn from Patient Safety Events (LFPSE) service, going live in April 2024. 

Rather than taking a phased approach, the Trust chose to align the move with wider patient safety reporting changes already taking place across the organisation. Reporting processes, internal systems and national requirements were all evolving at the same time, creating a more complex environment for implementation. 

Throughout the rollout, RLDatix worked closely with CUH to support system configuration, implementation and ongoing refinement. The focus was on helping teams adapt to changing requirements while maintaining continuity for users and minimising disruption to day-to-day reporting. 

The experience reflects the realities of implementing change within a large NHS organisation. Progress depended not only on technology, but on practical collaboration, experienced support and trusted working relationships. 

Navigating a Changing Patient Safety Landscape

CUH’s implementation took place during a broader shift in how patient safety events are recorded and managed across the NHS. 

The introduction of LFPSE and the wider Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) created new expectations around incident reporting, data structure and national submissions. Local teams needed to adapt reporting processes while maintaining familiarity and confidence for frontline users. 

One of the practical challenges during implementation was helping users separate local system functionality from national reporting requirements. As national reporting questions and structures changed, the Trust wanted to ensure frustration with external requirements did not affect confidence in the reporting system itself.  

This required careful configuration, clear communication and ongoing refinement as national guidance continued to evolve. 

Taking a Joined-Up Approach to Change

CUH deliberately aligned the DCIQ go-live with its LFPSE readiness work, aiming to avoid redesigning reporting processes twice. 

By implementing both together, the Trust could establish a more consistent long-term approach to patient safety reporting. 

Much of the complexity surrounding implementation reflected wider organisational realities rather than the incidents module itself. Alongside the rollout, the team was also working through: 

• integration with Active Directory  

• integration with Epic  

• governance and sign-off processes  

• broader organisational and structural changes  

Several of these activities took significantly longer than expected due to internal infrastructure dependencies and competing priorities.  

For CUH, the implementation highlighted something common across NHS organisations: system change rarely happens in isolation. Reporting systems, governance processes, organisational structures and digital infrastructure are often evolving at the same time. 

A Hands-On Implementation Experience

As the Trust worked through LFPSE readiness, close collaboration with RLDatix became an important part of the implementation process. 

Support focused on practical problem-solving rather than following a rigid implementation path. Teams worked together to configure forms, structure workflows and minimise unnecessary burden for users where possible. 

This included: 

• refining form design and workflows  

• configuring LFPSE-related fields  

• exploring auto-population options  

• adapting processes as national requirements evolved  

• providing ongoing implementation and customer success support  

Reflecting on the rollout, Dorte Napthen, Datix Manager, described the support during this period as particularly valuable: 

“That’s where I needed some help… and that support made a real difference.”

Dorte Napthen, Datix Manager

The implementation also evolved over time. As national guidance changed and organisational priorities shifted, the approach needed to remain flexible. CUH described the experience as collaborative and iterative, with ongoing dialogue between local teams and RLDatix throughout the rollout.

The Trust also highlighted the value of working with people who understood the realities of NHS operational environments and the pressures surrounding patient safety reporting change. 

Maintaining Continuity During Transition

While the move introduced new reporting requirements and processes, maintaining continuity for users remained a priority throughout implementation. 

From a configuration perspective, much of the underlying structure remained familiar. Security profiles, user management approaches and core administrative processes followed patterns the team already understood from DatixWeb.  

For frontline users, smaller usability improvements helped reduce friction during reporting. 

One example was the introduction of improved location and service fields within DCIQ. Users could begin typing a ward or service name and the system would complete the remaining organisational information automatically. This simplified reporting and reduced the need for users to manually navigate complex organisational structures.  

From an administrative perspective, the updated structure also made ongoing management of organisational locations and services more straightforward. 

The Trust described the overall transition as manageable, particularly because users retained familiarity with many of the underlying reporting processes while benefiting from incremental improvements in usability and workflow. 

Addressing Migration Concerns

Data migration is often one of the biggest concerns for organisations considering a move from DatixWeb to DCIQ. CUH took a clear and practical approach from the outset. 

The decision was made not to migrate historical incident data into DCIQ. Instead: 

• incidents recorded before go-live remained in DatixWeb  

• new incidents were recorded in DCIQ  

• both systems were maintained in parallel for a defined period  

The approach was communicated early in the project, helping set expectations and reduce uncertainty around reporting continuity.  

To support reporting across both systems, CUH created aligned reports using the same field structures and column formats. This allowed teams to extract information from both systems and combine datasets easily where needed.  

In practice, the period of working across two systems was relatively short. The Trust found that clear planning and consistency in reporting design helped minimise disruption and maintain confidence in access to historical information. 

Dorte explained that being transparent about the migration approach from the outset helped reduce uncertainty around reporting continuity: 

“Once that was clear from the start… concerns settled quickly.”

Dorte Napthen, Datix Manager

Why Relationships Still Matter

A consistent theme throughout CUH’s experience was the importance of trusted relationships and access to experienced support. 

Over many years of working with Datix systems, the Trust has built strong working relationships with RLDatix teams, account managers and product specialists. Those relationships provided continuity and helped create confidence during periods of change and uncertainty. 

CUH also highlighted the value of wider customer networks and peer communities across the NHS. Conferences, regional forums and informal collaboration between organisations all played an important role in sharing knowledge, discussing common challenges and supporting implementation work.  

For teams managing complex reporting systems, access to trusted contacts and shared experience was seen as just as important as the technology itself. 

Ultimately, Dorte believes trusted relationships and access to experienced support remain one of the most important parts of navigating complex reporting change: 

“As long as you have somebody you can call on and trust, that’s what makes the difference”

Dorte Napthen, Datix Manager

 The experience reinforced how valuable practical expertise, collaborative support and trusted relationships can be during periods of significant reporting change. 

Looking Ahead

CUH continues to expand its use of DCIQ, with additional modules and reporting capabilities being rolled out over time. 

A key area of focus is developing more advanced reporting outputs that better support governance and decision-making. The Trust is now exploring how reporting can move beyond basic data extraction towards more streamlined and meaningful outputs for governance teams and organisational leaders.  

The team expects this to be an ongoing process involving training, refinement and experimentation as users continue to develop confidence in the wider reporting capabilities available within the platform. 

For CUH, the experience has reinforced the importance of approaching large-scale reporting change as a collaborative process. Technology formed part of that journey, but maintaining continuity, building trusted relationships and working through challenges together proved equally important.