€170m buying system on hold

THE introduction of another €170 million computer system, being developed by the Health Service Executive, is to be put on hold following the PPARS payroll fiasco.

Work began early last year on introducing the Financial Information Systems Project (FISP) which was aimed at making savings of €80m per year through controlling bulk buying of services.

HSE sources said that the further roll-out of FISP, which they claim is running on budget, is being postponed as the HSE want to “err on the side of caution” as the project is based on the same SAP computer system as PPARS.

Speaking at a PPARS conference last October, Junior Health Minister Tim O’Malley spoke of how PPARS was “setting the scene and leading the way for the next large programmes such as FISP and HIS [iSoft].”

Yesterday, the HSE denied that FISP was in trouble and said that it was a “much tighter project” which was “coming in on budget.”

Up to €30m has been spent on the project to date and it’s projected that it will cost €170m to fully put in place.

The system is used to oversee the bulk buying of produce for the health services and also to monitor payments.

“We fully believe that the system should pay for itself within two years,” a HSE spokesman said yesterday.

Meanwhile, the Health Service Executive is satisfied that a new €56m computerised patient record system for the country’s hospitals represents “very good value for money.”

The HSE had been criticised for not sending a representative to India to ensure that the iSoft system, tailor made for the British National Health System (NHS), would work in Ireland.

But a spokesperson said yesterday that the HSE was “fully satisfied” with the planning for the implementation of the project

The spokesperson pointed out that the system, selected following a rigorous procurement process, could be configured to meet local requirements.

The spokesperson claimed efficiencies in administrative practices would be achieved by increased automation, reduced transcription and automatic sharing of information.

A version of the iSoft system is operational in Kerry General Hospital, Cork University Hospital and Adelaide and Meath Hospital, Tallaght.

It is planned that the upgraded new version of iSoft will be installed in Cork University Hospital this year.

It is then planned that “over time” the new iSoft system will be rolled out to all hospitals in Ireland.