OGCancerNI Trustee questions Health Minister on new encompass system

Across Health and Social Care, staff use lots of different systems which cannot, or cannot easily, communicate with each other. Many of these systems are old, outdated, and require replacement. Rather than continuing to rely on paper records and replacing technology on a system-by-system basis, Health Trusts across Northern Ireland are implementing encompass, a new system to improve the way patients and service users are cared for. This new system will become live in the Belfast Trust on 6th June.

OGCancerNI Trustee and MLA Stewart Dickson put the following question to the Health Minister in relation to encompass: “Whether the encompass programme will enable cancer patients and survivors to have virtual access to their own digital clinical data?”

The Minister responded: “encompass, which went live in the South Eastern Trust on 9 November 2023 and will be implemented region wide by Spring next year, includes a patient portal called My Care. This portal enables patients and service users to take more control over their care.

“Information such as letters, supporting information, lab results and radiology results will be made available to patients.

“To ensure that support is in place for patients in dealing with sensitive or upsetting information, some information relating to cancer testing and diagnosis will not be available immediately through the portal. This information will not be released until the patient has had an in-person discussion with their care team.

“A separate regional information system (RISOH) will continue to be used for detailed documentation of oncology treatments until a replacement system is in place. RISOH and encompass have been interfaced to enable patients to see the treatment appointment details in My Care.”