Region profile
Belonging to the United Kingdom, the province of Northern Ireland is composed of 26 districts and covers much of the ancient Irish kingdom of Ulster. With a population of 280.000, Belfast is the largest city and the capital and forms the economic engine of the region. Northern Ireland has historically been the most industrialised region of the island. After declining as a result of the political and social turmoil of the Troubles in the second half of the 20th century, its economy has grown significantly since the 1990s.
Northern Ireland is blessed with natural assets. Beside its well known green fields, the open landscape and the rolling hills, it offers a beautiful and diverse coastline. The province is the perfect choice for a short break or a holiday, offering various activities such as trout, salmon and freshwater fishing, surfing, sunbathing and a range of outdoor activities along scenic walking routes such as bike riding, hill climbing and horse riding.
Health and Social Care in the Region
Northern Ireland has an increasing population of citizens over 75 years of age – approximately 117.000. Within the Southern LCG area, the population of over 75 year olds is circa 20.000. This growing elderly population results in an increased demand for health and social care services. The use of IT systems provides an opportunity for developing innovative mechanisms for the management of elderly patients, who often suffer from multiple long-term conditions.
BeyondSilos in Northern Ireland
The focus of BeyondSilos in Northern Ireland is for the Health and Social Care Board to provide integrated care for elderly people living with chronic conditions and social care needs by further enhancing the functionality of the Northern Ireland Electronic Care Record (NIECR) to enable improved information sharing amongst health and social care professionals.
The Telemonitoring NI (TNI) service provides an end-to-end managed service for the remote monitoring of patients in their own homes. The service encompasses both Telehealth and Telecare and operates across all five Health and Social Care Trusts.
BeyondSilos builds on the TNI service and integrates the relevant information within the NIECR, thereby providing health and social care teams with more comprehensive information and easier access to patient and client data. In addition, the Northern Ireland Single Assessment Tool (NISAT), designed to electronically capture information required for holistic, person-centred assessment of the older person and the eNISAT will be interfaced with the NIECR to enable the transfer of information, including risk assessments, between professionals and facilitate a smoother journey for the service user along their care pathway. Furthermore, an Integrated Care Plan is incorporated into the NIECR enabling all care providers to see easily what is included in a specific service user’s care plan and where their care and service fits in. This should facilitate a more holistic view of an individual’s care and enable any gaps/omissions to be more easily identified and rectified.
