Going paper-free has delivered key benefits, including faster, safer and more coordinated care across a wide variety of roles, from clinical teams to porters and administrative staff.
The transition to digital records has transformed how Northern Trust is delivering health and social care services for the local population.
Neil Martin, NHSCT Director of Strategic Planning, Performance and ICT, said: “Going live with encompass was a huge moment for our Trust and marked an important milestone in digital transformation in healthcare, locally.
“We are very grateful to colleagues who have embraced the new system over the last 12 months and worked together to overcome some of the inevitable challenges that change on such a scale brings; sharing learning along the way, and helping to unlock the potential of encompass to improve and enhance patients’ journeys.”
One year on since going live with the encompass system, teams have been sharing some of the ways it is delivering benefits.
Podiatry Services Manager Janet Horan said: “encompass has revolutionised our podiatry service. The lack of dependence on paper notes means we can be so much more responsive to patients’ needs and they can go to clinics closer to their home, for example.”
Dr Aidan O’Neill, a consultant in acute medicine and rheumatology, described how encompass is making a difference in his area of expertise.
“One of the biggest benefits we’ve noticed is how we process our results,” said Dr O’Neill.
“Before encompass, we were relying on paper copies and that could take a while; these would first be sent to our medical secretaries before being matched to the correct patient file, and then it would be brought to clinicians for review and sign off.
“Now, we’re getting results immediately into our inbox and there’s no delay around checking what is urgent and what needs to be prioritised. Overall, it’s better for us and importantly it’s better and safer for our patients.”
Portering Manager, David Paterson said “Having patient data available at your fingertips was transforming how the portering service is delivered in hospitals. We’re able to look at the system and decide where to target our resources to be most effective and efficient for delivering services”.
Team Leader Anthony McCudden said “encompass gave porters the ability to have an overview of all the departments to see where there is any backlog which has been helping to improve patient flow”.
Maureen Casey, Cancer Coordinator with the Trust’s Surgical and Clinical Services said: “Epic has allowed admin staff to see and be part of the service user journey, from referral to triage, to appointment and ongoing care. This is beneficial for the patient because if there is input from multiple departments admin staff can see all of that information in one place and this makes for a smoother service user journey.”
Other benefits that have been highlighted by teams include:
- ordering multiple investigations (eg blood tests, CT scans, ECGs etc) at the touch of a button instead of having to complete individual paper forms
- receiving referrals for triage more quickly
- recording things once in a patient’s electronic healthcare record rather than duplication across various formats
- prescribing on encompass, saving time and reducing margins for error
- faster results management
- easier to manage patients with multiple/complex needs
- travelling lighter – no need for community teams to transport multiple heavy files to and from different Trust sites
Gillian Traub, Director of Operations, said: “There is no doubt that encompass is delivering many benefits for how we deliver health and social care services in our community. The fact that all Trusts in the region are now using the same system is a huge step forward in terms of transformation, and improving outcomes and experiences for our service users.
I want to thank teams for all their hard work to date, and for continuing to look at how we can maximise the benefits of encompass for patients and our wider community.”
Page last updated: 7 November 2025