Further delays to Guernsey's patient record system

The new patient record system has already been delayed by nearly a year and will cost £5m more than planned

The launch of part of Guernsey's new electronic patient record system has been delayed.

Health and Social Care (HSC) said the first phase of the system, which stores people's medical records and other information, had been due to go live in summer.

However, four out of the six areas planned for the first phase needed "further work", meaning it was only able to launch two areas on time - Child Health and Children's Services.

HSC said the rollout was "inherently complex" and relied on third-party suppliers, so it had delayed the work to reduce "clinical risk".

The new system was already delayed by nearly a year from its planned launch in October 2024.

HSC previously said the system's rollout was £5m over budget, which it attributed to there being more work than anticipated.

The four areas being delayed are:

• Acute

• Adult Community

• Adult Disability Services

• Mental Health

A HSC spokesperson said one reason for the delay was to make sure the system worked correctly with its new radiology systems.

They said they would confirm how long the delay would be once it had completed planning with third party suppliers.

The committee said the additional work included making sure "interface work" required to upgrade radiology systems was "sequenced appropriately" to reduce clinical risk.

"Careful management of the timing and interdependencies of these rollouts are critical to ensure that clinical risk is minimised and the upgrades of all the systems are effective which ultimately has a positive impact on patient pathways," the spokesperson said.