Northern Trust unlocking the benefits of digital transformation, one year on

Today (Friday, November 7) marks one year since the Northern Health and Social Care Trust became the third HSC Trust to go live with encompass – the digital patient record system.

Over the last 12 months, teams working across the Trust have been getting to grips with the new system and realising the benefits of going digital, for both patients and staff.

Going paper-free has meant a new way of working across a wide range of roles – from admin and medical staff, to porters and district nurses, social workers, speech and language therapists, to pharmacists and mental health teams – the transition to digital records has transformed how the Trust is delivering health and social care services for the local population.

Neil Martin, the Trust’s Director of Strategic Planning, Performance and ICT, said: “Going live with encompass was a huge moment for our Trust and marked an important milestone in digital transformation in healthcare, locally.

“We are very grateful to colleagues who have embraced the new system over the last 12 months and worked together to overcome some of the inevitable challenges that change on such a scale brings; sharing learning along the way, and helping to unlock the potential of encompass to improve and enhance patients’ journeys.”

One year on since going live with the encompass system, teams have been sharing some of the ways it is delivering benefits.

Podiatry Services Manager Janet Horan said: “Encompass has revolutionised our podiatry service. The lack of dependence on paper notes means we can be so much more responsive to patients’ needs and they can go to clinics closer to their home, for example.”

Podiatrist Leanne McGennity said being able to see patient notes and records in real time has been “a real game-changer”.

Photographs of wounds, for example, can be uploaded immediately for assessment meaning the management of ongoing care and treatment plans is much more efficient, improving experience and outcomes for patients.

“Teams receiving referrals are able to access all the information on encompass and see photographs of the wounds immediately and appropriately triage patients to ensure they are receiving the right care, in the right place and at the right time,” Leanne added.

Dr Aidan O’Neill, a consultant in acute medicine and rheumatology, described how encompass is making a difference in his area of expertise.

“One of the biggest benefits we’ve noticed is how we process our results,” said Dr O’Neill.

“Before encompass, we were relying on paper copies and that could take a while; these would first be sent to our medical secretaries before being matched to the correct patient file, and then it would be brought to clinicians for review and sign off.

“Now, we’re getting results immediately into our inbox and there’s no delay around checking what is urgent and what needs to be prioritised. Overall, it’s better for us and importantly it’s better and safer for our patients.”

Portering Manager David Paterson said having patient data available at your fingertips was transforming how the portering service is delivered in hospitals.

“We’re able to look at the system and decide where to target our resources to be most effective and efficient for delivering services,” said David.

Team Leader Anthony McCudden said encompass gave porters the ability to have an overview of all the departments to see where there is any backlog which has been helping to improve patient flow.

Maureen Casey, Cancer Coordinator with the Trust’s Surgical and Clinical Services said: “Epic has allowed admin staff to see and be part of the service user journey, from referral to triage, to appointment and ongoing care.

“This is beneficial for the patient because if there is input from multiple departments admin staff can see all of that information in one place and this makes for a smoother service user journey.”

Other benefits that have been highlighted by teams include:

• ordering multiple investigations (eg blood tests, CT scans, ECGs etc) at the touch of a button instead of having to complete individual paper forms
• receiving referrals for triage more quickly
• recording things once in a patient’s electronic healthcare record rather than duplication across various formats
• prescribing on encompass, saving time and reducing margins for error
• faster results management
• easier to manage patients with multiple/complex needs
• travelling lighter – no need for community teams to transport multiple heavy files to and from different Trust sites

Gillian Traub, Director of Operations, said: “There is no doubt that encompass is delivering many benefits for how we deliver health and social care services in our community. The fact that all Trusts in the region are now using the same system is a huge step forward in terms of transformation, and improving outcomes and experiences for our service users.

“I want to thank teams for all their hard work to date, and for continuing to look at how we can maximise the benefits of encompass for patients and our wider community.”