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2.2 Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire of St. Helier of the Minister for Health and Social Services regarding the out of hours' G.P. service:
Will the Minister advise whether the out-of-hours G.P. services is in need of a computer so that doctors can verify records to ensure that they do not prescribe drugs to patients to which they may be allergic, and if so, when will such a computer be provided?
Senator B.E. Shenton (The Minister for Health and Social Services):
I would like to thank the Deputy for the question. It is an issue I am aware of. When a patient presents for treatment at the G.P. Co-operative, the duty G.P. has access to the following forms of information: the General Hospital's computer system which provides demographic details and - to answer the very specific question asked by the Deputy - provides details of any allergies which patients on the computer system are subject to. They also have access to the patient's history as
taken by the duty G.P. when the patient attends for treatment. Also to G.P. Co-operative patient
records accumulated since the inception of the service in April 2006 and the confidential ledger, which provides G.P.s with information about vulnerable patients and their medication history who present with some measure of frequency. However it is certainly true that the new G.P. Co- operative does require a new computer system and it is something at Health that we are actively looking to move forward. There are obviously questions about I.T. (information technology) resources that are available and the overall cost.
2.2.1 Deputy P.V.F. Le Claire:
I would like to thank the Minister for his answer which was comprehensive. May I just dig a little deeper? What exactly are the costs of providing the G.P.s with a computer that will be able to tap into the hospital's computer that has this amount of information that is useful? Then the following question would be: at what stage will this hospital computer be linked to G.P.s' practices in general in Jersey so that a thorough continuity of care can begin to occur in Jersey?
Senator B.E. Shenton:
I have been in contact with the G.P.s and the system that they require is one that is used throughout the U.K. (United Kingdom), the Isle of Man and other E.U. (European Union) areas. The cost would be in excess of a 6-figure sum and we have a new an excellent Director of Information
Services within our department that is currently looking at resources, but we also have to look at
the funding issue and who pays for it but it is an issue that we are actively monitoring ourselves.