Government to halt rollout of controversial $471m electronic patient record system EPAS

ROLLOUT of the controversial $471 million electronic patient record system EPAS — years overdue and more than double the planned budget — will be halted today, as pledged by the new State Government.

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ROLLOUT of the controversial $471 million electronic patient record system EPAS — years overdue and more than double the planned budget — will be halted today, as pledged by the new State Government.

This includes the Royal Adelaide Hospital — which doctors’ groups say is in “crisis” — where the flawed system was due to be expanded from next month.

The move comes as SA Health official data shows the RAH ED now has 71 beds, up from 65 — but inquiries by The Advertiser reveal this medical magic is actually sleight-of-hand, with no new beds.

EPAS was rushed into the RAH in time for the opening but is only partly functional and paper records are being brought in from warehouses.

Doctors dealing with EPAS pleaded for it to be abandoned. Picture: iStock generic

Doctors in other hospitals dealing with EPAS have pleaded for it to be abandoned.

Health Minister Stephen Wade sought opinions from doctors and said the overwhelming feedback was that expanding it — including at the RAH — would have been an “unacceptable risk to patients”.

“There are significant operational problems at the new hospital that need to be resolved as a matter of urgency, particularly as winter is just around the corner,” he said.

“The Royal Adelaide Hospital needs to address issues highlighted in recent accreditation reports and the unacceptable time many patients are having to wait in the Emergency Department for an inpatient bed.

“Expanding the use of EPAS at the RAH at this time would have been an unacceptable risk to patients.

“EPAS has been a sinkhole for taxpayers’ money with its budget ballooning from the original $220 million to $471 million, despite only being operational in a handful of hospitals.”

He said a review would examine whether SA Health should continue with EPAS, the likely cost, and alternatives if it could not “be salvaged”.

State Coroner Mark Johns also has condemned EPAS for “effectively preventing the court from establishing the truth” in his inquiry into the death of former Socceroo Stephen Herczeg, 72, who died at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in 2016, where lack of paper records was an issue.

Meanwhile, an SA Health statement confirmed there were no extra beds in the RAH’s ED and the changed figures “reflect the use of six Emergency Extended Care beds that are located adjacent to the emergency department”.

“These beds have been in use for short-stay inpatients since the hospital opened but have only recently been categorised as inpatient beds,” it said.

The changes come as the $2.3 billion hospital’s ED struggles with overcrowding and patients who have been treated remain stuck in the ED due to lack of ward beds.

At 10.30am yesterday, there were 35 people who had been treated but were waiting in the ED for ward beds, including 13 waiting for 12-24 hours.

Safework SA is investigating claims of health and safety regulation breaches in the ED and mental health wards.