IT systems called to be changed after two suicides

After two cases where men took their own lives, coroners have called for changed to be made to GP IT systems. 

Coroner Emma Brown has raised concerns that a fault in the EMIS system can cause a GP to miss appointments due to consultation lists not being updated properly. The problem was reported in July 2020 and has still not been fixed. 

According to an inquest, one man who took his own life had been described as ' extremely anxious' after attending Accident and Emergency for a physical ailment and became very concerned about his health. Mr Pardeep Singh Plahe, an NHS pharmacist, was scheduled to have a telephone consultation, however, due a fault in the system, he was unable to have the call. It is believed that had he been able to have the call, he would still be alive today. 

Another case found that 21 year old Dyllon Milburn took his own life. He been found to be non-compliant with regards to taking his medication and the current EMIS system is not set up to remind patients to request and collect their repeat prescription, which may have helped encourage him to take his medication. Changes to the IT system could be set up to do this, but so far, no alerts have been set-up. 

A spokesperson for EMIS has said they acknowledge the coroners comments and will respond to them directly. The EMIS spokesperson believes the issue would also be best addressed through a practice’s standard safety medicine management process. 

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Source: HSJ, 14 June 2021