7 November 2026
As we approach World Radiography Day, we’re celebrating not just the radiographers and imaging professionals delivering vital services every day, but also the teams working behind the scenes to support them.
A major milestone for NIPACS+ was recently achieved, with upgrades to the Radiology Information System (RIS), Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS) and Digital Pathology (DPAT) modules, successfully completed together during a single overnight upgrade on 13–14 October.
Bringing the three upgrades together meant fewer separate periods of planned disruption and contingency working than would have been needed if each system had been upgraded independently, helping to minimise the impact on clinical services and patients.
The successful upgrade followed extensive preparation and testing and was made possible through close collaboration between BSO ITS, Trust PACS Teams, wider Trust colleagues and Sectra.
The contribution of the Trust PACS Teams was particularly important. Their local knowledge and support helped prepare services for the upgrade, coordinate activities within each Trust and validate the systems before they returned to clinical use. The work was coordinated within BSO ITS by John Brittain, NIPACS+ Operations Services Manager, and the NIPACS+ team, working alongside Sectra and colleagues across the HSC Trusts.
The systems are now running on newer, supported software releases, helping to improve functionality, stability and security.
As World Radiography Day approaches, this achievement is a great example of the teamwork that takes place across Northern Ireland to support the technology and services that imaging professionals rely on every day.
