Making services safer; introducing the new National Clinical Surveillance Infection Control System

HSE Acute and Community services, eHealth and AMRIC are working together to introduce a National Clinical Surveillance IT System for Infection and Prevention Control. The introduction of this software will help support surveillance of HCAI will play a key part in control of HCAI, it is estimated that about half of HCAIs can be prevented. The system will be available across all Acute and Community services.

This is a multi-million project which will deliver significant benefits to the patients, service users and staff. 

IPC teams will now have access to a “one stop shop” for all their IPC information in relation to their patients or service users.  Having everything in the one system means that the IPC teams have fast access to all the information they need to deliver care that is appropriate and timely which reduces the number of HCAIs.  The system assists staff in the timely management of outbreaks. It significantly reduces the administrative burden on these teams and has additional features such as clinical audit.

Deirdre Mullins, Project Manager with AMRIC says the system also has comprehensive reporting capabilities which can be configured to support local needs, it delivers enhanced workforce productivity due to greater efficiencies in obtaining patient information, record keeping, and administration. Procurement of the system has now completed and implementation plans are in development.  Areas are in the process of establishing their Local Implementation Groups (LIGs).  These LIGs will have membership from both acute and community services to ensure that an integrated approach is taken to implementation.

There are a number of hospitals which already have clinical surveillance systems in place for Infection Control, these include Tallaght University Hospital, Kerry University Hospital and across UL Hospitals Group.  Currently a project is underway across the Saolta Hospital Group in collaboration with CHO1 and CHO2 to roll out such a system in an integrated way across acute and community services.  As part of that project Galway University Hospital, Mayo University Hospital and Roscommon University Hospital went live late 2022.

A national eHealth project team is now in place and Informatics Nurse posts (CNM2) are being appointed in each Hospital Group to support implementation of this system.  These Informatics Nurses are forming a network, they held their first meeting on the 27th of July.  Colleagues from AMRIC, eHealth, CHI, ULHG, Saolta and SSWHG were present to share learning from previous implementations, plan for the future and develop a community of practice. 

It is planned to implement this system progressively commencing in Q4 2023.  If you would like more information or would like to speak to someone working on this project, please contact Deirdre.Mullins@hse.ie or Cathal.Collier@hse.ie