THE HEALTH Service Executive (HSE) said last night it is assessing a range of options to ensure there will be no undue impact on patients after the High Court refused to compel a software company to continue maintaining vital computer services for 180 healthcare facilities including hospitals around the country.
Ms Justice Mary Laffoy also refused to order Eamon Keogh, trading as Keogh Software, Harold’s Cross, Dublin, to temporarily release source codes necessary for anyone else to maintain the system, which is used by AEs, radiology departments, HSE billing services as well as in environmental health areas and “parliamentary affairs” of the HSE.
Keogh Software had on May 29th last laid off all of its staff providing the service but had undertaken to maintain the service pending yesterday’s judgment on the injunction application.
The HSE wanted that injunction requiring the company to continue its services until the outcome of the full action.
However, Ms Justice Laffoy ruled an injunction was not a practical answer to the problem and directed the issue of the release of the software source codes should be dealt with under an independent resolution procedure set up to deal with that.
The judge refused a cross-application by Mr Keogh for injunctions requiring the HSE to pay for work done under a new fee agreement entered into by the parties on April 3rd last and waiving a HSE requirement to produce a tax clearance certificate prior to payments being made.
Last month, the judge was told the dispute was precipitated when operational problems were experienced in Naas Hospital’s radiology information system. The HSE claimed Mr Keogh failed to respond properly to those but Mr Keogh claimed the HSE had denied access to the system.
Prior to those events, there were negotiations about a revised fee structure for Keogh Software which alleged the HSE owed it money. The HSE acknowledged payment was due but argued it could not be made because the company had not supplied a current tax clearance cert.
Mr Keogh claimed his cert had expired on April 30th and he was not in a position to get a new one. By May 29th, he had laid off all of his 14 staff who had serviced the HSE account. His son, Conall Keogh, who has also been made redundant, continued to provide services until yesterday’s judgment.
In her decision, the judge said, a court order was not a practical solution for the HSE to compel Keogh Software to continue to provide its services. It would also be impossible for the court to supervise any order it might make requiring the services to continue. She also rejected the HSE’s claim there would be undue delay in obtaining a decision under the resolution procedures.
In a statement last night the HSE said: “Following on from the decision in the High Court today, the HSE is now assessing a range of options available to it to ensure continuity of service and to ensure there will be no undue impact on patients.”