Queensland Health staff warned tech glitch could cause transfusion delays

A technological glitch has been uncovered that could cause delays in the availability of blood for transfusions in Queensland.

Pathology Queensland staff were alerted to a technology glitch on Friday which a Queensland Health team warned could cause delays in the availability of blood for transfusions. Photo: File.

Pathology Queensland staff were alerted to a technology glitch on Friday which a Queensland Health team warned could cause delays in the availability of blood for transfusions.

An email sent from the Office of the Chief Clinical Information Officer warned staff that Pathology Queensland and its service partners were experiencing “unexpected system instability” as a result of planned system maintenance in late August.

A nursing director in the email said one of the system defects had been identified as a moderate to high clinical risk.

“Due to the multiple duplicate records of patient information occurring within pathology applications, transfusion labs may experience issues in the preparation and cross matching of blood products,” she said.

“This may lead to delays in blood product availability.”

The email said there was potential for inaccurate clinical decisions or patient care plans to be formed based on delayed, incomplete or omitted pathology results.

Pathology Queensland was working to resolve the issue on Friday morning and had communicated with transfusion laboratories which had applied additional safety measures.

A Queensland Health spokesperson said they are aware of “an issue” impacting the AUSLAB system but said “the system remains operational and there is no impact to the provision of care or patient safety.”

The incident came days after multiple patients at Caboolture Hospital shared horror stories about services.