A new digital patient records system across the health service in Northern Ireland is expected to cost a total of £300m by the time it has been fully implemented.
After seven years of planning to convert the paper records of patients to digital, the 'encompass' system was officially launched by staff in the South Eastern Trust last week with the remaining health trusts to follow over the next 18-24 months.
The Department of Health's Permanent Secretary Peter May described it as "a new era" for healthcare in Northern Ireland, allowing staff to instantly access patient records and reduce errors and duplication of services like tests.
A public information document from Digital Health and Care NI (DCHNI) lists 18 frequently asked questions about the system, with number 18 setting out the considerable expense – which would equate to over £150 for every single one of Northern Ireland’s 1.9m residents.
Alliance MLA and health spokesperson Paula Bradshaw is supportive of the changes but said there was no cause for “undue alarm” as the money was drawn from the Department of Health’s capital funding (which is planned over many years) but the ongoing Stormont deadlock meant being unable to scrutinise the rollout with a health committee was frustrating.
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The DHCNI document states that the “programme implementation phase” is due to complete in 2027/28, at which point the system and supports services will transition into a “business as usual phase”.
“Total expenditure will be approximately £300m (the bulk of which is coming from DoH capital funding) over the course of the next 10 years.”
This includes the capital spent on the implementation phase, covering supplier costs like software licensing and implementation as well as hardware and costs for programme staff.
It continues: “Significant spend on updating our systems was unavoidable. Some of our current systems are very old and are coming to the end of their lifespan.
“The world’s best healthcare providers all have an electronic health record at their centre. We want the best for our population, and, in today’s world, that requires world-class systems based around patients and clinicians.”
In a statement to the Irish News, Ms Bradshaw said: “There is always some concern both over ensuring value for money of projects of this scale, and over ensuring they actually happen on budget and within the right timescale to deliver the value promised.
“In this case, however, the money will be drawn from capital budgets which are planned in the much longer term, so in our view there is no reason for undue alarm.”
She added: “Nevertheless, it would, of course be far easier and more democratic to allow scrutiny of the roll-out of this system in the South Eastern Trust and ultimately across Northern Ireland by the Health Committee at Stormont.
“While we are overall supportive of this project, it is yet another example of where democratic scrutiny is currently lacking.”
The Department of Health has been contacted for a response.
Well done to @setrust on the launch of encompass
— Department of Health (@healthdpt) November 9, 2023
This digital milestone is the culmination of over seven years of work to improve how health and social care is delivered in NI.
It will be rolled out to other Trusts on a phased basis over the next 18-24 months. https://t.co/onbCCIs6AN
