CUH cannot stand over test results for patients

A Cork hospital has written to doctors saying it cannot stand over some of its patients’ test results because of a major IT glitch and it has put the State Claims Agency on notice of potential fallout.

GPs who referred patients to Cork University Hospital for a variety of pathology tests have been told that some samples sent for testing were “not tested in full” because the tests could not be done within the requisite timeframe, while samples were still viable.

In addition, the hospital said it was aware of some irregular results in relation to a number of hormone tests, specifically TSH, oestradiol and testosterone. The hospital said it “cannot assure the quality of all results in all cases”.

TSH is thyroid stimulating hormone, used to monitor thyroid function especially for people on thyroid medication.

Oestradiol and testosterone are hormone levels and are measured in hormone testing for infertility tests.

In a memo to GPs in the Cork and Kerry region, John O’Mullane, consultant clinical biochemist at CUH, said while they did their “utmost to conduct analysis on as many specimens as possible” during the IT crash, some testing “regrettably” could not be performed within the time recommended “and consequently these samples were not tested in full”.

Dr O’Mullane also said they had become aware of some “anomalous” results in relation to some hormone tests and had issued “amended reports in these cases”.

The HSE said yesterday that the anomalies referred to by Dr O’Mullane are “from the Biochemistry Department within laboratory medicine and refer to a minimal number of non-priority samples following the completion of an extensive quality audit exercise”. The HSE confirmed the State Claims Agencies, which manages cases against the State, had been notified.

Dr O’Mullane urged GPs to consider repeat testing if test results appeared abnormal, in the interests of patients’ safety.

Dr O’Mullane told GPs that the “prolonged computer down time” “had a major impact on our capacity to deliver clinical biochemistry services” but the computer failure “was completely outside of laboratory control”.

The HSE said the company who supplied the IT system had helped restore it at no cost. The HSE also said a business case for an IT upgrade had been approved and would be processed as quickly as possible.

The crash occurred on August 16 and continued for at least two weeks, during which time all testing had to be processed manually. Patients reported major delays at the hospital. As the Laboratory Information Management System at CUH is centralised, Kerry General Hospital, Bantry General Hospital, and Mallow General were also affected, as well as the blood transfusion lab at Mercy University Hospital.