Carts of patient charts disappeared at Limerick’s maternity hospital when it began using digital health records earlier this year in an “amazing” move welcomed by all. It means some 70% of newborns in Ireland now have a digital health record from the start of their lives as six of the 19 units now use electronic records. “Even if a woman is looking for a folder, there is nothing now.”Cork first maternity hospital to leave paper behind in 2016The first maternity hospital to leave paper behind was in Cork back in 2016 and the Coombe in Dublin the latest after University Maternity Hospital Limerick. I don’t think the public realises how hit we were.”Now Damien McCallion, HSE deputy CEO, describes a very different picture. The Department of Health has been reluctant to put precise numbers on it as the procurement process for the big ticket item — a digital health records system — continues.

Source: Irish Examiner December 24, 2025 14:30 UTC