Darren O'Rourke (Meath East, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Sinn Féin welcomes the Bill and the opportunity it presents. Those of us who engage with friends and counterparts in different European countries are aware of the relationship people have with their medical information. Often, with an app on their phones, they can access lab results or other information in real time. They think nothing of it and have had that technology for almost decades. It is an indication of how far behind we are. I remember meeting, as part of a Sinn Féin delegation back in 2010, 2011, 2012, with the troika, and they said ehealth and digital health were something we had to make progress on. Eventually, we are getting there. I think the Irish Pharmacy Union had its pre-budget submission today. Pharmacists there talked about a hospital information system, a GP information system and a pharmacy information system. None of the systems talk to one other, and it is something we have to address.

In the short time I have, I want to urge caution as regards the development of these systems and their practical implementation, with specific reference to the medical laboratory information system, MedLIS, which has been in development for a long time. There are lessons to be learned in that regard. In 2010, 2015, I think, there were expressions of interest and contracts, there was a commitment to deliver in 2018, and in 2024 we are eventually seeing pilot sites or the system go live in a number of hospitals, including Beaumont. There are lessons to be learned in terms of the scope of those works, the development of that software and its implementation. A Mazars report in 2018 stated the complexity of this was totally underestimated. Now we are in the roll-out phase. I have spoken to senior scientists and people on the front line about this and they say it has the potential to be a recipe for disaster if not properly implemented. I therefore urge the Minister of State and those leading out on the MedLIS project to engage on a site-by-site basis with the management team there. Every setting is different in different ways. In Beaumont, my understanding is that this is adopted in the lab but not in the histology lab because of the nature of the services there. I plead with the Minister of State to ensure that those who are leading out on this project engage on the ground with the scientists who have a practical responsibility for this. If not implemented well, it is a cause for major concern.

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