A MAJOR project to introduce a new Electronic Patient Records system is set to conclude this year, the Health Minister has confirmed.
Responding to a written question from Deputy Raluca Kovacs, the minister – Deputy Tom Binet – gave an update on the project, which has been a major focus of investment in Health in recent years.
Deputy Binet said that the project had been implemented in phases and that “all core components” were now live. A major upgrade had been carried out in May 2025, with a similar upgrade scheduled for May of this year, he added, with the main programme concluding this year.
The Health Minister also provided an updated tally of the cost of the new system. A total of £7.5 million had been spent on deployment, he said, with a further £1.6m allocated in 2026 and 2027
In addition, he added, £9.2m had been spent between 2020 and 2025 on modernising other hospital systems such as in Radiology, GP order Comms, Maternity, eConsent and Ophthalmology, and finally another £1.9m per annum to cover ongoing maintenance and management of all hospital systems, including the electronic patient records.
Deputy Binet said: “New paper creation is now rare, but historic notes remain on paper because scanning/Electronic Document Management Systems was out of scope.
“The focus is on expanding structured documentation rather than widening population coverage,” he added. “Islandwide integration will follow via the Digital Health Foundations Programme and the Jersey Single Patient Record.”
In February 2024, a review of the new records system by the Comptroller and Auditor General criticised a seven-month delay in the implementation of the system and found that levels of engagement from the Health Department’s senior clinicians and managers “fell below what was expected and hoped for”.
