Lack of digital records in hospitals a 'shocking' problem for patients and medics

Hospital doctors would like if hospitals had similar software to that used by GPs.' It does really impact continuity of care for patients.'

Hours taken to photocopy and fax patient files when a child transfers to adult mental health services is taking up valuable time that could be used to see patients, according to doctors.

This week, thousands of non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs) moved hospitals for the next stage of their training.

Dr Brian O’Mahony, a member of the non-consultant hospital doctor (NCHD) committee in the Irish Medical Organisation, said the lack of digital records was a “shocking” problem for patients and medics.

“In psychiatry, someone might have a very long history of treatment in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services[/url [Camhs], and then they go to adult services or move from Donegal to Cork, and we have no access to their old notes,” he said.

“You ask the team to send down notes — their issue is they’ve several files, they are massive, and they don’t have the admin staff to send that down, so you get a very abbreviated summary.” 

This is common in most services, not only mental health. 

“You have to take out all the sheets in the file to fax them to the unit, and then you have to put the whole thing back. It takes hours because you have to put each sheet in individually because the holes [from hole punchers] are all different," Dr O'Mahony said.

Wasted time

Tech-savvy doctors are frustrated by the wasted time. 

“Oftentimes, it’s a case that you type your note out and then you print it and stick it in the file — which can take two people to lift,” he said.

It would be "really great" if hospitals had similar software to that used by GPs, he said. "It does really impact continuity of care for patients." 

There are personal costs also to moving so often.  

Of one married doctor-couple he knows, Dr O'Mahony said: "They haven’t lived together in the five years since they moved back from Australia. They’re doing two specialities in which you don’t get a choice where you go, you just get put places.” 

Other common issues are not getting swipe-cards for doors or email access until weeks after a placement starts. 

Long hours

However, it is the long hours which really affect NCHDs despite improvements in adherence to a European directive on working hours.

“Your sleep is terribly disrupted. People take melatonin to regulate their sleep or even anti-histamines to try and go to sleep when they’re off,” he said.

“When you’re doing nights you’re in complete jet-lag for a week.” 

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He drinks “a lot of coffee”, saying it is not uncommon to do a day-shift, be on-call that night and back to work in the morning.

Dr O’Mahony said he was hopeful of further improvements in NCHD working life following a taskforce report, published in February.