Northern Trust marks Epic milestone in healthcare by swapping paper records for digital

The Northern Trust has become the third HSC Trust in Northern Ireland to introduce encompass, creating a single, digital, integrated healthcare record for every citizen.

At 4am this morning (Thursday), the Trust went live with the new Epic system, with staff swapping patients’ paper records for digital.

It means almost two thirds of the entire Northern Ireland population are now using encompass, following its rollout in South Eastern Trust last November, and Belfast Trust in June 2024.

Patients and service users also have the option of accessing their own healthcare records via the secure patient portal and mobile app, MyCare.

Chief Executive Jennifer Welsh hailed the Northern Trust’s go-live this morning as a huge success, and paid tribute to staff.

She said: “Preparing for change of this scale has been a mammoth task, and I want to pay tribute to everyone across our Trust for the incredible effort that has gone into planning and training over the last number of months to get us ready for encompass.

“Our staff have been fastidious in their commitment and determination to make go-live in our Trust a success, and I am immensely proud of our Team North colleagues.”

Ms Welsh added: “This is a huge moment for our Trust and our wider community. Encompass will transform how we deliver care; importantly it will improve outcomes and experience for our patients and service users, and empower them to be more informed and involved in their healthcare journey.

“It will give staff and clinicians instant access to a patient’s care information, reducing time spent chasing records and completing paperwork.

“The rollout of encompass represents a once in a generation transformation in health and social care and I am very proud that Team North has played a role in that.”

Neil Martin, Director of Strategic Planning, Performance and ICT with the Trust, said: “Staff have been working extremely hard to prepare for this major digital transformation with months of planning and training across the entire Trust.

“We also have the support and learning of our regional colleagues who have been instrumental in our planning and preparation for go-live.

“Inevitably, as with any change, we are likely to experience some disruption while teams adapt to the new system, but we are committed to mitigating any impact on our patients and service users during the go-live period, and we would appeal for the public’s patience and understanding over the coming days and weeks.”

The Trust is also advising members of the public to expect more healthcare workers to be using mobile phones and devices when they are receiving care or attending appointments. This is how staff will access patient records once the encompass system is introduced.

Jennifer Welsh added: “It’s important to say that while how we work may be changing, the care we deliver will not.

“We remain committed to our vision of providing compassionate care with our community, in our community, and we believe encompass will support us in that aim, delivering huge benefits for our patients and service users.”

For more information, including a list of Frequently Asked Questions, visit the Trust’s website here