South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust introduces digitised patient records

The new system, which launches on November 9, will see patients records digitised and staff will be equipped with tablet devices to give them quick and easy access to patient records.

In the open letter, the Trust states: “The South Eastern Trust is proud to be the first Trust in Northern Ireland to implement encompass.

"This is a regional digital innovation which will wave goodbye to paper patient records and enable Health and Social Care staff to access your information at the touch of a button.

"If you have an appointment in the South Eastern HSC Trust you may notice some changes.“Here's what to expect at your appointments over the next few weeks:“As we move from one system to the other, there will be more staff across our sites than usual. Staff from other hospitals, who are experts on the new computer system, will be there to help us as we get used to using encompass.

“You may notice staff using new devices that look like mobile phones. Staff are using these devices to look at your patient records in order to provide the appropriate care for you.“In the first few weeks of the new system, there will be some delays to our services, for example longer waiting times for appointments, prescriptions and test results. This is because staff are getting used to working with the new system. This will only be for a short period of time.”