It Really Seems That SA E-Health Is Continuing Not To Be Managed As Well AS One Might Hope.

This appeared a few days ago.

More costs ahead for new RAH but not all beds will initially operate

• July 24, 2015 9:54PM
• BRAD CROUCH MEDICAL REPORTER
•  The Advertiser

THE new Royal Adelaide Hospital faces further cost blowouts, won’t have all the services of the existing RAH as promised and will open months late with about half its beds operating and a half-baked EPAS IT system.

State Parliament’s Budget Estimates health committee was told the $2.1 billion hospital faces extra costs including:

- $30 MILLION in claims lodged by the building consortium for removal of unforeseen contaminated soil, on top of a $1 million claim already settled;

- AN expected claim for time spent removing the excess soil;

- ‘MINOR’ modifications to the building plan.

There also will be costs for remediating the existing RAH site when it is taken over by Renewal SA including removal of nuclear and medical waste.

In the Estimates committee hearing Health Minister Jack Snelling confirmed he would dump a pledge that all services now at the RAH would be at the new RAH, saying instead they would go where there would be best outcomes for patients.

He was unable to say what services would not be at the new RAH, as senior clinicians are now working out where services would best be placed.

The hearing was told there had been no move by the builders to change the contract timetable which aims to have the hospital handover next April, so the Government should move on to site in January for three months of technical checks.

…..

Mr Snelling said the new hospital would run at about ‘half capacity’ when it opens, due to the existing RAH being largely emptied of patients in preparation for the transition.

Mr Marshall ridiculed the situation as delivering “half a hospital” saying Government promises of the new RAH operating at full capacity from April 18, 2016 had been exposed as a fantasy.

The hearing heard the troubled IT system for patient records, EPAS, will not be fully functional at the new RAH when it opens and paper records will continue to be used.

It also heard the antiquated CHIRON IT system in country hospitals is being used without a licence and the makers are taking the State Government to the Federal Court.

The full article is here:

http://www.news.com.au/national/more-costs-ahead-for-new-rah-but-not-all-beds-will-initially-operate/story-e6frfkp9-1227456120760

The last two paragraphs say it all from an e-Health perspective and the rest of the article suggests there are many more problems that that!

Time for a bureaucratic and ministerial shake up I suspect!

David.