Is the Minister satisfied with progress on major IT projects could projects be identified and give proposed dates of completion

1240/5(6234)

WRITTEN QUESTION TO THE MINISTER FOR HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES BY DEPUTY R.G. LE HÉRISSIER OF ST. SAVIOUR

ANSWER TO BE TABLED ON TUESDAY 3rd MAY 2011

Question

Is the Minister satisfied with progress on major IT projects in the Health and Social Services Department? Could the Minister identify these projects for members and give proposed dates of completion, budgets allocated and any overspends to date?

Answer

The Health and Social Services Department (HSSD) is currently working to deliver a major IT initiative known as the Integrated Care Records (ICR) programme. The ICR programme consists of a group of inter-related and inter-dependent projects that will modernise HSSD's current IT and information management systems some of which are approximately 25 years old and which, because of their age, are increasingly difficult to support.

The ICR projects include:

• Child health care system: A new child health care system was introduced in January 2009 to support the management of the Island's vaccination, preschool and school health programmes. The project was completed on time and in budget.
• Electronic x-ray and imaging system: A new system know was RIS/PACS was introduced in February 2010. RIS/PACS replaces film x-rays with digital images which can be more easily stored, viewed, manipulated and shared amongst different clinicians thereby support diagnosis. Images can also now be shared with UK Centres of Excellence allowing rapid diagnosis of more complex conditions and provision of second opinions when required. The RIS/PACS project was completed on time and in budget.

In 2010 alone HSSD made savings of £260,000 on film processing costs.

• Replacement patient administration system: Work is currently underway to replace the old Patient Administration System (PAS) with a new system known as TrakCare. TrakCare will replace aging software and technology with system which delivers multiple benefits including:
  • a Master Patient Index (MPI) providing the basis for screening and other long term care provision which is essential for the management of patient health
  • a full electronic patient record (EPR) for Maternity and Emergency Department admissions with access to that record for all wards and departments
  • "real-time" patient information for bed management
  • well managed waiting lists

The target date for completion of the PAS project was originally October 2010 however due to a number of system developments and changes mutually agreed with supplier the current target "go-live" date is now June 2011. These developments will provide improved functionality and better support HSSD's business processes.

The change of date to June was in part dictated by the need to avoid peak times in hospital activity. For any major IT project the ideal times in the hospital year for "go-live" are either mid- summer or mid-autumn in order to avoid winter pressure on clinical services and spring/summer holiday periods which mean staff may not be available for training.

HSSD  and  the  suppliers  are  currently  in  the  final  stages  of  negotiating  additional  clinical functionality which will deliver increased operational benefits. These negotiations, which are being held in response to the delays in implementation, are commercially sensitive and are at a critical stage. It would not therefore be appropriate to disclose details at the moment.

• Pharmacy system. A replacement pharmacy stock control system will be implemented alongside the new PAS system. This will support real time stock control and provide a foundation for potential e-prescribing. It is anticipated that it will be delivered in budget.

The elements of the ICR programme that have been implemented to date are making real, tangible  improvements  to  patient  care  -  such  as  more  better  management  of  childhood vaccinations and more rapid diagnosis - as well as delivering efficiencies. The clinical and administrative staff engaged in the project are extremely positive about the benefits that will be delivered by PAS and working to ensure its smooth implementation in June.

In addition to the ICR programme, HSSD is working with the States IS Department on a number of other system upgrades/replacements including: pathology; links to private patients; ambulance; server replacement; breast screening and maternity systems.