The Department of Finance has put the brakes on an urgent risk assessment of Beaumont Hospital’s information system (BHIS), the failure of which could pose a risk to patient safety.
The hardware and software underlying the BHIS has been deemed ‘obsolete’ by the hospital and is based on technology that is more than 20 years old, as revealed last week in Irish Medical Times.
“In the likely event of system failure, there will be significant risks to continuity of service in the hospital, and to the integrity of the hospital’s data. Both could pose consequential risks to patient safety,” the hospital has indicated.
Beaumont thus believes it is essential that an analysis of the risks be undertaken as a matter of urgency, that mitigating actions are identified where appropriate, that plans are developed to replace the BHIS as a ‘matter of urgency’, and to ensure a smooth transition to a new system. The systems covered under the BHIS include patient administration, laboratory, order communications and radiology.
However, the hospital has been forced to cancel the tender for the risk analysis, as Department of Finance approval is first required for any publicly funded ICT spend in the HSE. Beaumont had wanted expert consultants to carry out the assessment by the end of July.
Following last week’s story, a spokesperson for Beaumont informed IMT that a detailed feasibility study of the system was undertaken between 2006 and 2008 and that hospital management had been working closely with the HSE since 2007 on the implementation of new replacement systems. “The strong functionality of the existing system is recognised both within and outside Beaumont, but the hardware is now coming to the end of its useful life and remaining storage capacity is limited to three years,” he added.
It is understood replacement of two elements of the existing system, order communications and radiology, are already in progress and the ICT Department at the hospital is working with the HSE and its preferred software suppliers on the upgrading of the patient administration and laboratory systems.
“Local recovery and back-up systems currently exist. However, in respect of some activities, such as the ordering and reporting of laboratory test results, back-up would involve reversion to a paper-based system in the event of a system failure. The delays which could result from this are seen as potentially posing a consequential risk to patient welfare,” the spokesperson added.
Beaumont views this setback with the tender merely as a ‘technicality’, and fully expects to proceed with the contact following Department of Finance approval.
The BHIS does not have any direct affect on the provision of clinical services.
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