The Chair of the NI Assembly Health Committee, Philip McGuigan, MLA and South Down MLA, Colin McGrath visited the Ulster Hospital to see first-hand how digital innovation is transforming Health and Social Care across the South Eastern Trust.
During the visit, both MLAs were given an overview of the Trust’s progress with encompass, the new digital care record system that is revolutionising the way care is delivered. The system enables staff to access real-time patient/client information, helping to improve decision-making, patient safety and the overall experience of care.
Philip and Colin also had the opportunity to view a live demonstration of the innovative ‘MyCare’ app, a user-friendly digital tool that gives patients secure access to their Health and Social Care information, including test results, appointments and correspondence. With over 45,000 patients already signed up in the South Eastern Trust area, the app is empowering people to take a more active role in managing their own health.
Speaking after the visit, Philip McGuigan said “As Chair of the Health Committee, I think it is vitally important that we were able to see encompass and its potential benefits in action. The visit was exceptional and very worthwhile and we had the opportunity to speak to the staff and clinicians in terms of their experience, first of all, in using encompass, but also the positive benefits that this has for them and their daily work. But more importantly, patient outcomes and patient safety.”
“I would encourage members of the public to download the MyCare app. It is a vital part of our health treatment services that individuals themselves can access their own information, see what is going on and be able to use that information in a positive way with regard to their own health and care.
“We are in the 21st Century and we need to move with the times. Both the encompass system and MyCare are very positive technological advances, which will improve patient outcomes in patient care, which is ultimately what any health care system is about.”
Colin McGrath MLA added, “So we were able during our visit today to hear about encompass and the impact that it has had right across the South Eastern Trust and Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland. We also had the opportunity to see encompass in action on the ward and how it helps patients in their journey, how it encourages safety, how it improves patient flow and how that fits into the overall health service, which is a benefit for everyone. We heard how much it is a success and we look forward to seeing how it can be rolled out further and also what can be added to it to make it an even better system for patient care.”
Delighted to showcase both encompass and MyCare to members of the Health Committee, South Eastern Trust Director of Unscheduled Care, Marc Neil, stated, “It is a great opportunity for us to share our encompass journey with the Health Committee and to show the real difference that encompass is making on the ground to patient care and how we manage our services here in the Trust and for them to see it in action.
“MyCare has the ability to be one of the biggest changes in the delivery of health care across the whole of Northern Ireland. We currently have approximately 160,000 people signed up across the Region. MyCare is hugely transformational in how it allows our patients and our community to engage with their care. It was great to be able to show both Philip and Colin, who were so impressed, that they logged in and signed up during the visit.”
Regional Chief Clinical Information Officer & Consultant Physician, Dr David Wilson, remarked, “Through the introduction of encompass, care is definitely more efficient and safer and that is obviously a benefit to the patient. As part of that, patients now have access to their health and care information through the MyCare app and that has been an incredible change to engage them in their own health care. We hope to continue to improve and evolve as time goes on and increase the functionality in MyCare.
“Through encompass and MyCare, everything is so much more joined up with the patient at the centre. Information about the patient journey is now available across Northern Ireland in hospitals, communities, mental health, social care, the information is all in the same place and that makes a huge difference to patient care.”
Chief Nursing & Midwifery Information Officer, Angela Reed commented, “We have been on the digital journey with encompass since 2023 and we are already seeing benefits across our professions that are widespread. Staff are telling us that individually they are seeing improvements through using the system that can range from communication across community and hospital based care to actually reducing omitted medications within our ward-based environments.
“It was a good opportunity for the Health Committee to engage with our staff in clinical areas on the ground to learn more about encompass and MyCare and to take the opportunity to sign up while they were here. We look forward to further engagement in the future to promote MyCare and share the benefits this innovative app can provide.”
