Healthcare Policy

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 June 2023

Tuesday, 27 June 2023

Questions (676)

Alan Dillon

Question:

676. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 1130 of 13 June 2023, if he accepts that patient safety is of paramount importance and introducing a temporary short-term digital solution for the community that does not integrate with the hospital, as a substitute for a fully functioning electronic health record and which in his reply he acknowledges is critical for safer and more integrated care, the objectives of the ECC's two Integrated Care Programmes, the ICPCD and ICPOP, are seriously compromised and as a consequence pose a clinical risk to patient safety; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30849/23]

Written answers

Minister for Health

Deputy, your additional queries are informed, considered and well made. In our opinion, what is being proposed as a short term measure for ECCs may be too limited in its capability, hence comments in response to previous PQ. Equally, the time and effort to deploy enterprise wide EHR solutions, whilst very capable, is significant and hence can take a long time. There is a middle ground that is more than capable of addressing the needs of the ECC programme, is more joined up with the rest of the system, but not something that will take too long to deliver. Furthermore, a solution with this level of capability would provide a glide path towards a full EHR solution in the future. This is the path we propose to travel as we secure resource commitments to the longer term solution/s. I trust this explains the situation more clearly.