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The new, multi-million pound Electronic Patient Records system remains on track to be ready for use by June next year.
It was originally intended to be ready for use across health and social care settings by the end of this year, when it was approved by the States in 2021.
That implementation deadline was then shifted to March, before being moved back again, to June next year.
This morning, the HSC President told the States that everything remains on track for that new deadline.
Giving his quarterly update to the States, Deputy Al Brouard described the EPR system as a "critical element of the HSC Transformation Programme".
"In my September statement, I advised that due to challenges with resources and complexity, the completion of the first stage of the implementation of the new EPR is forecast for the end of June 2025, with further stages to complete by the end of June 2026," he said.
"I noted that this is a large and complex programme, and that the Committee does not wish to compromise on scope or testing, but to ensure that a safe and effective programme of digital transformation is delivered for the benefit of all islanders. I also noted that the cost forecast for the Programme is now around £22.2 million, and that we will be working closely with the Policy & Resources Committee regarding funding.
"Work continues at pace to deliver to this timeline, with the current focus on migrating data from the existing systems and on the thorough testing of the new EPR by a team of clinicians in Health & Social Care and the Medical Specialist Group. Feedback from the testing teams so far has been very positive, as the staff are now getting the new tools in their own hands and are able to see how they will work in practice for their teams."
Pictured: HSC President Deputy Al Brouard.
The changeover to the EPR system - which has cost the island £22million - was agreed by the States four years ago.
At the time the current system used by health professionals across HSC and the MSG was described as "outdated", with the States asked to fund its replacement.
Deputies were warned at the time that the existing system - TRAKCare - would stop working from the end of March 2021. However, the States’ Health and Social Care services, including all those based at the hospital and in the community, are understood to still be using it.
When the new EPR system is implemented from next June, it is intended to improve patient records with doctors and other healthcare practitioners better able to efficiently and securely record, track, and analyse their data.
"As noted, this is complex work, and inevitably there will be more bumps in the road to overcome as we progress," said Deputy Brouard this morning.
"While there are some challenges with the timely delivery by our key infrastructure supplier, the current projection does still remain for the replacement of TRAKCare at the end of June 2025. The Programme team continues to monitor progress and risks, and regularly report to the Governance Board and to the Committee.
"I can confirm that the Committee has made a request to the Policy & Resources Committee for the additional funding to support the revised cost forecast of £22.2 million, and based on the discussions between officers at HSC and Strategic Finance, for the provision of a 10% optimism bias, should further unknown challenges materialise.
"We will of course keep the Assembly advised on the continued progress of this important and beneficial programme. Indeed, yesterday HSC held a productive session to provide Members who expressed an interest following the States Meeting on 4th September to discuss EPR and a further opportunity to ask questions. The additional information made available at this session will be circulated to States Members shortly."
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