The published tables (updated quarterly) include the number of children and referred for an assessment for autism, and the number of children positively diagnosed with autism each quarter.
Encompass
Encompass is a new electronic patient record system that will create a single digital care record for every citizen in Northern Ireland who receives health and social care. It aims to create better experiences for patients, service users and staff by bringing together information from various existing systems that do not currently communicate effectively. The programme was first introduced in the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT) on 9th November 2023 and will be rolled out on a phased basis across all Health and Social Care (HSC) Trusts in Northern Ireland by the end of 2025. Further information about Encompass can be found at the link below. Encompass - DHCNI (hscni.net)
Quarterly children’s autism data
Please note that due to the rollout of the new patient record IT system encompass, South Eastern HSC Trust has been unable to provide data since November 2023 and Belfast HSC Trust has been unable to provide data for quarter ending June 2024. Caution must therefore be taken when comparing Northern Ireland figures across the quarters.
Quarterly adult autism data
Due to small numbers and the risk of personal disclosure, quarterly figures for adult autism are only published at Northern Ireland level. Due to the rollout of the new patient record IT system encompass, Belfast and South Eastern HSC Trusts have been unable to provide data for quarter ending June 2024. This, together with the ongoing data migration issue in Northern Trusts regretfully makes a quarterly figure at Northern Ireland level meaningless. No update will therefore be published for adult autism for quarter ending 30 June 2024. The previous quarter’s figures can be found here.
Quarterly Children’s Autism Statistics for NI (April - June 2024)