Supporting North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC)
IT Works Health supported North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (NCIC) in the successful delivery of Phase 1 of its Alcidion Electronic Patient Record (EPR) programme, covering inpatient services across both acute and community settings.
Working alongside the NCIC programme team, clinical and operational colleagues, and Alcidion, we led the go-live planning, command centre design and operational management, helping to provide the governance, coordination and support required to deliver a safe and controlled deployment.
Our Approach
Our role focused on providing experienced leadership throughout the planning, mobilisation and go-live phases. We worked collaboratively with all stakeholders to:
- Develop and coordinate the go-live strategy and operational support plans.
- Design, establish and manage the Command Centre, including governance, reporting and escalation processes.
- Coordinate readiness activities across programme, operational and clinical teams.
- Provide experienced command centre leadership throughout the deployment.
- Scale specialist resources at the appropriate point to deliver 24/7 support during the critical go-live period.
By maintaining an experienced core leadership team during planning and preparation, before introducing additional specialist resources for go-live, the Trust benefited from strong governance, effective coordination and an efficient, scalable delivery model.
Outcomes
The deployment was successfully delivered across acute and community inpatient services through a highly collaborative partnership between NCIC, Alcidion and IT Works Health.
Operational stability was achieved within the first week following go-live, allowing support arrangements to evolve from intensive deployment support into structured hypercare and ongoing optimisation activities over the following weeks.
The Command Centre model was recognised as a key contributor to the success of the deployment, providing clear governance, rapid decision-making and effective coordination across all participating organisations.
The success of the programme reflected the collaborative efforts of NCIC, Alcidion and IT Works Health, working together with a shared commitment to delivering a safe implementation for clinical services.
IT Works Health provided experienced programme leadership, robust command centre management and scalable specialist resources, creating an environment where issues were identified early, decisions were made quickly and services remained focused on patient care throughout the deployment.
The Command Centre operating model was widely recognised as a key success factor, providing the governance, communication and coordination needed to support a safe, controlled and successful go-live while establishing strong foundations for continued optimisation.
Key Achievements
- Successful deployment across acute and community inpatient services.
- Operational stability achieved within the first week.
- Structured transition from intensive go-live support into hypercare and optimisation.
- 24/7 Command Centre support throughout the critical deployment period.
- Positive recognition from both NCIC leadership and NHS England for the governance, organisation and effectiveness of the Command Centre.
Recognition from NHS England
"The command centre arrangements were exemplar."
NHS England
- 24/7
- Support
What Our Client Said
"The command centre model was particularly well received and undoubtedly contributed to a safe and controlled go-live. Thank you for your support throughout the programme. It was a pleasure working with you and the team."
Andy Laverick, Chief Information Officer & Digital Director, North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust