Cost of EPAS record-keeping system at new Adelaide hospitals to blow out — again
Erin Jones, The Advertiser
HEALTH Minister Jack Snelling has admitted the cost of a controversial computer system to replace paper records in Adelaide hospitals will blow out for a second time, but has no idea by how much.
The State Government has set-aside $421.5 million to implement the Enterprise Patient Administration System, which allows clinicians to electronically access health records.
However, Mr Snelling on Monday told an estimates committee the budget would need to be revised by Cabinet in the “coming years” and only about $180 million remained.
EPAS was yet to be installed at the new Royal Adelaide Hospital, Lyell McEwin Hospital and Flinders Medical Centre.
“We do not think we are going to be able to do it within the $421 million envelope that has been provided,” Mr Snelling said.
“So we will have to go back to budget, but to date that has not been necessary; we are still operating within budget.”
EPAS has already encountered a $200 million budget blowout and had ongoing delays to its roll out.
State Opposition leader Steven Marshall said Mr Snelling’s latest admission added “another chapter to the ongoing EPAS saga”.
“Most concerning is that this failed system is now the system of choice to roll out across 70 country hospitals,” Mr Marshall told TheAdvertiser.
“Despite the many failures of EPAS, the government has chosen this for our country hospitals.”
Mr Snelling told the committee $500,000 would be used to investigate the use of EPAS in country areas, but could not provide a time frame or cost on the roll out.
Country hospitals were using the CHIRON system despite it being decommissioned in March last year and the supplier taking SA Health to court for its continued use.
Meanwhile, planning of the new $2.3 billion Royal Adelaide Hospital was again criticised by the Opposition as a report showed there would not be sufficient space for clinical trials.
Mr Marshall said the report into the relocation for RAH research outlined 358 clinical trials would need to be moved, but 289 could not be located within the new hospital.
“The minister had no answers as to where these 289 clinical trials would be located and considering we were already meant to have moved into the hospital it’s completely negligent,” he said.
Mr Snelling told the committee the Central Adelaide Local Health Network was working on which trials would be located at the hospital and “we will accommodate those clinical trials that need to happen in a hospital environment”.
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