One of the most comprehensive electronic prescribing and medicines administration deployments in Wales supports safer, more connected care across acute, paediatric, maternity and mental health services
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (CAV UHB) is approaching the completion of one of the most extensive electronic prescribing and medicines administration (ePMA) implementations in Wales, with Nervecentre’s solution now live across 98% of inpatient wards.
Delivered over a nine-month period, the programme represents a significant step forward in the Health Board’s ambition to use digital technology to improve medicines safety, streamline clinical workflows and support better patient care.
The implementation has transformed medicines management across a wide range of clinical environments, including adult inpatient services, the Children’s Hospital for Wales, maternity services, mental health inpatient services, intensive care, and the Emergency Department.
CAV UHB has already achieved several significant milestones, including becoming the first NHS Wales organisation to implement closed-loop medication administration, with 100% of medicines now administered using a mobile device. This enables clinicians to verify medication at the point of administration, supporting safer care and reducing reliance on paper-based processes.
The Health Board is also the first Nervecentre customer to go live with ePMA across mental health inpatient services, demonstrating the platform’s flexibility in supporting diverse care models beyond traditional acute settings.
Within paediatric services, more than 1,000 dose calculators have been configured within Nervecentre ePMA to support safer prescribing for children. The system is also live across maternity services, helping clinical teams manage medicines throughout the maternity pathway.
CAV UHB was the first NHS Wales organisation to introduce ePMA within an Emergency Department, extending digital medicines management into one of the most complex and time-critical clinical environments.
The platform is also supporting more complex prescribing requirements, with clinicians using Nervecentre ePMA to prescribe and administer intravenous fluids and complex infusions across all wards, including adult and paediatric intensive care.
The next phase of the programme will see ePMA introduced into newborn services and the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit towards the end of 2026. This will include new functionality within Nervecentre to support medication dosing based on corrected gestational age, helping clinicians provide safer, more personalised care for premature and newborn babies.
Since implementation began, clinicians across the Cardiff area have used Nervecentre ePMA to create more than 1.2 million prescriptions and complete over 5 million medicines administrations.
Supporting Wales’ digital healthcare ambitions
The programme supports the wider ambitions of the Welsh Government and Digital Health and Care Wales to create safer, more connected digital services that improve patient care and support healthcare professionals. The Digital Medicines Programme is a key part of this ambition, helping NHS organisations move away from fragmented paper processes towards integrated digital workflows that provide clinicians with better information at the point of care.
Additionally, Nervecentre have developed the capability to read and write medicines information into the national Shared Medicines Record. This allows medicine prescription information to be shared nationally across Wales, allowing healthcare professionals to access the information required to undertake safe and accurate medicines reconciliation. The programme will soon enter a testing period for the shared medicines record integration, with full deployment in the coming months.
By embedding prescribing and medication administration directly into frontline clinical workflows, CAV UHB’s implementation demonstrates how digital technology can support safer medication practices, improve efficiency, and free up time for healthcare professionals.
CAV UHB ePMA Programme Manager, Elaine Lewis, said, “I am incredibly proud of what our ePMA team have achieved over the last year, delivering one of the most extensive ePMA transformations in Wales whilst maintaining a relentless focus on delivery, patient safety and supporting frontline staff. The programme has shown how digital transformation can make a meaningful difference to the way we care for patients.”
Nervecentre CEO, Paul Volkaerts, said, “Cardiff and Vale University Health Board is one of seventeen UK healthcare providers that have now committed to Nervecentre’s ePMA. They have demonstrated what is possible when digital transformation is designed around the needs of clinicians and patients. The scale and ambition of this programme show how ePMA can become a foundation for safer, more connected healthcare delivery across multiple care settings.”
