Hospital IT crash a mystery, says boss of CUH

The boss of one of the country’s busiest hospitals has admitted he has no idea what is behind the ongoing computer difficulties that paralysed its laboratory IT system leading to concerns about the quality of patient tests and lost files.

Tony McNamara has conceded that they need to find out quickly — “because clearly the potential implication of a system going down where so many tests are done each year, is significant”.

Minutes of a breast cancer governance meeting at the hospital from August 28, seen by the Irish Examiner, state that “these problems were highlighted four years ago”.