‘Archaic’ information systems across Tasmanian hospitals are wasting precious staff hours

Nurses are pushing for an urgent upgrade of the state’s “fragmented, inefficient” hospital IT systems after the coronavirus pandemic highlighted hygiene and workload issues.

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ARCHAIC information systems across Tasmania’s public hospitals are impeding patient care and exacerbating staffing woes, nurses say.

In its submission to a review of the state service, the Australian Nursing and Midwifery Federation said the COVID outbreak confirmed Tasmania’s hospitals desperately needed connected IT systems for patient records, payroll and rostering.

“It was very obvious during the COVID-19 threat/outbreak that hospitals desperately need connected clinical information systems,” the submission said.

“Patient records should be available electronically across the state.”

ANMF state secretary Emily Shepherd said current systems were heavily paper-based, including for patient care and rostering, and coronavirus had highlighted hygiene and workload issues.

“During the North-West outbreak it was not unusual to see nurse managers working well into the early hours of each morning going back through rosters to determine which staff member was working and when,” Ms Shepherd said.

While the Hobart Private Hospital has an electronic payroll, roster and time sheet system, the adjacent Royal Hobart Hospital’s systems were comparatively archaic, health analyst Martyn Goddard said.

“We need a decent IT system but ours is fragmented, inefficient and very often lethally ineffective,” he said.

Health policy analyst Martyn Goddard. Picture: RICHARD JUPE

The ANMF’s submission to the review said nurses were often too busy with menial paper-based tasks to think about innovation, while suggestions for system improvements were regularly dismissed if even a modest cost was involved.

The ANMF said electronic time sheets and an app connecting nurses who wanted extra shifts with wards needing staff would free up nurses and nurse managers to focus more on patient care.

“A true computerised roster and payroll system … would be more accurate and reduce the large administrative burden (and) do away with onerous paper-based processing,” its submission said.

A government spokesman said ongoing health ICT investment had “enabled an immediate and targeted response to COVID-19” and the department was “actively considering options to improve systems”.

“Extensions and upgrades have been made in essential support and clinical management systems such as MyHealth Record, Medtasker, RealTime Duress services, Telehealth, statewide Wi-Fi replacement and major data centre storage/backup capacity, as part of the Department’s rolling and planned investment strategy,” he said.