Trust Celebrates Historic Arrival – First ‘encompass’ Babies Born With a Full Digital Health Record

9th November 2023
mother, Chantelle, holding baby Nylah

Meet baby Nylah who made history when she was born at the Ulster Hospital this morning, becoming the first baby in Northern Ireland to have a full digital health record. It was an historic and emotional moment.

As Nylah made her way into the world, the South Eastern Trust waved goodbye to patient paper records and became the first Trust in Northern Ireland to implement encompass, the major new Regional digital patient healthcare record system. This digital milestone is the culmination of over seven years of work which will make our health service safer, more efficient and effective.

Nylah arrived at 01:25 am on 9 November 2023 marking this momentous moment for digital transformation in Health and Social Care in Northern Ireland.

Delighted that Nylah is the first baby in Northern Ireland to have a digitised health record, mum Chantelle Jolley said, “The new digital record will be so helpful.  I am thrilled that Nylah was the first baby in Northern Ireland to have a digital health record.”

Celebrating this historic moment, Lead Midwife Sarah McKevitt added, “We are delighted to celebrate the birth of the first baby with the first digital health record in Northern Ireland through the implementation of encompass.

“encompass will transform the way we manage patient information, making healthcare more accessible and efficient.  The implementation of encompass within the Trust reflects our dedication to providing the best possible care for women accessing Maternity Services in the South Eastern Trust.”

Northern Ireland Health and Social Care has partnered with the global leader Epic to build the encompass system which is unique to Northern Ireland. Epic currently provides electronic records for over 300 million people within the UK and across the world.

Implementing encompass means our Health and Social Care records will be digitised, accessed at the touch of a button and the need for paper records will be eliminated.

baby Nylah sleeping