You may have seen everywhere, including from us, that March 2023 is the deadline to have a fully functioning LFPSE compliant incident reporting system in live use. However, NHS England has just announced that Trusts now have the option to extend that deadline by six months to 30th September 2023.

To make sure you understand exactly what has changed we’re going to break down the recent announcement from NHS England and what it means for you.

What is happening?

NHS England announced on the 18th of October 2022 that Trusts have the option to extend their transition period from NRLS to LFPSE beyond March 2023 to accommodate for testing, refining and customising their system for live use.

All NRLS users now must have a fully functioning LFPSE incident reporting system in use by 30th September 2023. This six-month extension is to allow those Trusts that need it to customise the system to the Trust’s specific needs and deploy it.

Providers must still have a system in place, in at least test use by 31 March 2023.

This means you must still have chosen and procured your choice of system and be in test by March 2023. The extension to September does not enable selection and procurement to delay beyond March 31, it is only an extension for customisation training, testing and refining only.

Why is this happening?

Several Trusts have expressed their concerns to NHS England that the March 2023 deadline is too tight for a complete system change or update. With many Trusts worried that their current suppliers do not have an LFPSE compliant version of incident reporting system available yet, there is doubt that they will be able to get their new system up and running in time.

We are pleased to say that InPhase is not such a supplier. Oversight from InPhase is fully LFPSE compliant, fully available, and has just gone live for a major 2 hospital NHS Trust, including previous incumbent record migration, in less than an 8 weeks implementation period.

What does this mean for you?

It’s still crucial to begin the transition work as soon as possible to make the most out of the move, and still meet the 31 March running in test mode deadline.

The procurement process cannot slow down, as systems must still be procured and in place in test by March. Many Trusts will still want to get to the benefits of a new system as soon as possible, now that they know they will be changing systems, whether to an expensive upgrade or a replacement supplier that will deliver more benefit for the money. Each supplier will have their own time frame for set up. For example, InPhase Oversight can be implemented in 6-12 weeks.

You must have made your choice of supplier, procured or re-contracted, installed and begun the testing phase by March 2023 with a final go live deadline of 30th September 2023.

NHS England are keen for providers to progress as rapidly as possible and not ‘wait’ saying “LFPSE is designed to be agile and adaptable, therefore there is no “final” version of the software. You will be able to continue making changes and help better the service as it continues. There won’t be a further extension available, so it’s now more important than ever to make your choice.”

Your next steps.

Following this announcement, it’s still important to get your next steps completed as quickly as you can. First, you must decide on your choice of supplier for your next period. Will you want to continue with a separate incident system or can triangulate incident with all your other quality, audit, performance, governance and assurance data, now or in the future?

If you’re unhappy with your current supplier, it’s also time to look elsewhere.

We are delighted to discuss your needs, the benefits of a broader solution and show you and your team why Oversight is the best approach.

Talk to procurement and establish your framework options for acquiring a new system at pace. Work backwards from the March deadline and the procurement lead time to establish your project start date and your order placing deadline.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about an LFPSE incident reporting system that can support rapid migration from any legacy system, a supplier that can support your Trust through the process, and deliver the solution that will serve you best in the future talk to an InPhase expert today.

Incident Oversight from InPhase became LFPSE certified in April 2022, fully equipped with incidents, risks, good care events, outcomes, claims, mortality, complaints, safeguarding, audits, enterprise risk, performance, improvement projects, actions plans and more. Schedule your time with one of our advisors now to find out how we can support you and your Trust.

Robert Hobbs

Chief Executive Officer

InPhase’s Chief Executive and Founder, Robert has been the visionary leading InPhase to be one of the UK's leading providers of management, governance and assurance solutions, and helping organisations align their actions and goals more easily and efficiently with InPhase's suite of integrated apps.