The number of patient referral letters which went missing due to a breakdown in a new healthcare electronic data system could be close 50,000, an MLA has suggested.
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt told the Northern Ireland Assembly he could not confirm that total, but stated it was a “significant number”.
Earlier this month it emerged that thousands of letters had gone missing after a fault with the Encompass system.
Encompass is a single electronic record for patients, which has been rolled out in health settings across Northern Ireland.
During question time at the Northern Ireland Assembly, DUP MLA Paul Frew asked the minister to outline the scale of the problem with “lost letters to GPs and patients”.
Mr Nesbitt said: “Yes, there was a failure, a technical failure, as I understand it, in what should have been a fail-safe.
“So, a number of referrals were not issued, and that’s a matter of deep regret for me.
“However, these were referrals that were telling GPs that the consultant who was issuing the referral did not need to see the patient.”
Mr Frew said: “Can he tell us the scale of the issue? I’m led to believe that it’s just under 50,000 letters.
“Can the Health Minister confirm that number?”
Mr Nesbitt said: “I can’t confirm that number, because I’m told that there was a bit of duplication involved in the numbers.
“It was a significant number, in fact one is one too many, because Encompass is an incredibly expensive system and it just should not be happening.
“And although the referrals were negative in terms of the consultant saying I don’t need to see your patient, there may be occasions when the consultant was saying, but you may want to consider some other course of action.
“So, we should not be in any way dismissive of the breakdown and Encompass.
“The question that I’m still asking is on top of a system failure, in terms of the machinery, was there was a human error as well?”
When Encompass was launched in May 2025, Mr Nesbitt said the integrated care record system would put Northern Ireland at the “forefront of health service delivery”.
It was described as a clinically and operationally led integrated care record system which allows for a single digital record for every citizen in Northern Ireland who receives health and social care.
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