1st January 2025

Welsh Nursing Care Record reaches major milestone

The Welsh Nursing Care Record (WNCR) is now fully available in all adult inpatient wards at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board. This marks a major step forward in using digital tools to provide safer and more efficient care.

The system replaces traditional paper nursing notes with a digital system. Nurses now use tablets or handheld devices to assess patients at their bedside. This saves time, improves accuracy and reduces the need for repeating tasks. By having instant access to up-to-date patient information, healthcare professionals can make faster and better-informed decisions about a patient’s care.

Jenny Winslade, Executive Director of Nursing at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said: “The rollout of the Welsh Nursing Care Record across all adult in-patient wards in our hospitals marks a key milestone in our nursing strategy, with nursing leading the way in digital innovation.

“Our staff now have instant access to key patient information, including admission documents, risk assessments, and up-to-date notes from anywhere within the Health Board. I’m proud of our nurses for embracing this change and ensuring the transition was smooth, improving communication between teams and supporting better care.

“We are grateful for the support and expertise of Digital Health Care Wales (DHCW) in helping to achieve this Welsh Nursing Care Record development, which provides a powerful tool for audits and ongoing improvements to our services.

“The Health Board is excited to build on this success, reducing paperwork and maximising the benefits of digital systems across other departments and services.”

Fran Beadle, Chief Nursing Information Officer at Digital Health and Care Wales, said: “I’m incredibly proud of my colleagues at DHCW and Aneurin Bevan University Health Board for working together to reach this significant milestone. Since the WNCR launched in April 2021, we’ve collaborated with health boards to expand its use across adult inpatient wards across Wales and we expect to reach 100% coverage in 2025.

“Partnerships with health boards like Aneurin Bevan UHB have been essential in ensuring the Welsh Nursing Care Record truly meets the needs of healthcare professionals. By listening to frontline staff, we’ve developed a system that not only reduces paperwork, but also empowers nurses to spend more time with their patients. With instant access to accurate, up-to-date information, they can make faster, more informed decisions, ultimately delivering safer and better care.”

The Welsh Nursing Care Record is available in 89% of eligible wards across all seven health boards in Wales and Velindre Trust. The WNCR has been used to digitally assess more than 421,000 inpatients and record nearly 20 million nursing notes.

Plans are now underway to expand the WNCR to include children’s inpatient assessments. It follows funding from the Welsh Government’s Digital Priorities Investment Fund.