Annual Report 2012 ˜ Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community
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AAnnnnuuaall RReeppoorrtt 22001122 ˜˜ MMiinniissttrryy ffoorr HHeeaalltthh,, tthhee EEllddeerrllyy aanndd CCoommmmuunniittyy CCaarree December 2013 CONTENTS ____________________________________________________________________________________ Page Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care Office of the Permanent Secretary 1 Superintendence of Public Health 25 Department of Health 70 Financial and Administration Directorate 214 Annual Report 2012 ~ Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care 1 Office of the Permanent Secretary 2012 saw the consolidation of the changes that were carried out in the previous year, wherein the various Divisions and Directorates developed their distinct role and responsibilities, whilst retaining a unified approach towards the ministry’s main goals. Given the ministry’s large size and complexity as well as the myriad of different professions and staff, it was felt appropriate that a new Human Resource Division be set up, incorporating three Directorates covering the full range of HR functions. The post of Director General Human resources however remains vacant after a first open call for applications. Over 2012, the Ministry has consolidated and expanded its commissioning function considerably. It now has several contracts in place with the private and NGO sectors. The main focus was for the provision of long term care beds, for investigative and therapeutic services linked to the waiting list initiative and for services provided by several NGOs. This is in line with the Ministry's policy to serve as funder and commissioner of services and to contract services in a cost-beneficial manner. This has also served to improve efficiencies within the Public Health Service and to decrease waiting lists significantly in some areas by contracting specific services to the private sector. Despite the time and energy afforded to discussions with unions, a number of new and innovative sectoral agreements have been signed over 2012, setting the basis for significant change in their manner professions work and train. The new Mental Health Act and the new Embryo Protection Act were passed through Parliament in 2012 and the necessary administrative and clinical structures are being put in place to implement these new laws. Also work on the new Health Care Act proceeded in earnest, with a view to transpose the Directive 2011/24/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 9 March 2011 on the application of patients’ rights in cross- border healthcare. In order to better manage the vast portfolio falling under this ministry, a number of committees have been created to deal with specific functions. All these fall under the responsibility of the Permanent Secretary. These are: − Ministry Management Board - this is the highest executive (non-Political) forum of the Ministry where the main Ministry policies and decisions are taken. − Programmes and Projects Monitoring Board - this Board is responsible for the monitoring and implementation of all projects and programmes in the Ministry. − Commissioning and Contracts Monitoring Board - this Board overseas all contractual and commissioning responsibilities across the Ministry. − Oncology Board - this Board is responsible to oversee all aspects of the new oncology centre project, including the monitoring of the EU funded ERDF project, the migration of services from Boffa Hospital to Mater Dei and the resource requirements for this centre. INFORMATION MANAGEMENT UNIT The Information Management Unit (IMU) leads the Ministry's ICT strategy, aimed to enhance service delivery standards. The primary focus of the IMU is the strategic direction and management of information management investment within this Ministry to ensure that data is translated into information as a resource. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Annual Report 2012 Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care 2 2012 was the first full year of functioning of the eHealth (Strategy & Projects) Office in the Information Management Unit. It was established in 2011 to provide a focal point for the formulation of eHealth strategy, policy and standards, and to manage specific eHealth-related projects on a national and international basis. The past year was a challenging one for the IMU, when taking into account the high number of planned strategic initiatives, depletion of human resources and consequential affects. NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE The demand for network infrastructure continued to grow in order to roll-out both clinical and administrative systems. Although efforts were made to address a high number of requests, further work in this area is still required in order to extend and complement the services offered by the Ministry. Infrastructural upgrades within Primary Health Care both at Health Centre level and at Peripheral Clinical level were planned and partly implemented. During 2013, the infrastructure within Peripheral Clinics is expected to be provided to support the services offered closer to the community. During 2012, the third phase of the SVPR Campus network project was also completed. The Backbone infrastructure as well as the Administration Block Access Layer have been finalised whilst subsequent phases to extend the infrastructure to other areas within the residence are in their final planning stages. In liaison with the Foundation for Medical Services and MITA, the IMU also addressed the New Oncology Hospital infrastructure requirements. Throughout last year, a number of unscheduled changes had to be implemented in order to support the existing infrastructure, including the provision of fibre optic cable, installation of ADSL backup equipment, routers, switches UPS units and equipment cabinets. In addition, a number of network extensions were implemented to enhance the service provision within the Ministry. Furthermore, ageing networking equipment is being gradually replaced with new one which is aimed at improving bandwidth speed to meet the ever growing demands and expectations. A major project in this area includes the assessment of St. Luke’s Hospital Campus Network in order to plan the replacement of the existing active and passive infrastructure. This project started and is expected to be finalised by the first quarter of 2013. FREE INTERNET WIFI SERVICES The IMU continued to offer free internet WiFi services within visitor areas at MDH. The service offers free Internet services to both visitors and patients within the foyer area as well as within the Out-Patients department. New free internet WiFi services within the Blood Donation Centre and Sir Paul Boffa Hospital has also been set up. CONSOLIDATION OF ICT SERVICES In line with the Government’s policy to consolidate all ICT services with the aim of reducing total cost of ownership, the IMU embarked on the consolidation process of various Ministerial services. The IMU extended the consolidation to servers located within the Ministry. This consolidation process will continue in 2013. The data consolidation project aims to: • ensure correct access rights and privileges, • provide data sharing services where this is still lacking, and • ensure that all data is safely stored (relocated if necessary) within MITA’s consolidated environment. _____________________________________________________________________________________ Annual Report 2012 Ministry for Health, the Elderly and Community Care 3 Equipment Provision Even though no funds were available throughout the year, a number of technology upgrades were carried out within the Ministry through cost savings made by the IMU. Thus, a number of new PCs were provided through the Desktop Services Agreement. During the year, the IMU was also responsible for the reviewing, monitoring and approving ICT equipment requests submitted by the various departments and entities under the Ministry’s portfolio. A high number of equipment requests necessitating procurement initiatives were also addressed. IT Hardware Inventory An IT Hardware inventory for all ICT equipment deployed across the Health (excluding Mater Dei) has been compiled. An inventory movement procedure has also been enacted in order to maintain a healthy inventory. Action has been taken to: Standardise the contents of a Ministerial ICT equipment inventory database; Facilitate the task of maintaining an up-to-date Ministerial ICT Equipment Register. Further action is also planned for 2013 to: Ensure effective control is maintained; Ensure continuous checks are made to detect losses and discrepancies in a timely manner. Clinical Data Access by the Bedside – Technology Assessment A study and review of current tablet device technology for devices designed for both the general consumer as well as health grade devices was carried out. The study also addressed potential application hosting options, either on installed directly on server or application virtualisation to facilitate a cross platform access method from a variety of mobile computing devices. A preliminary field test within Mater Dei Hospital was also undertaken with a variety of tablet devices in order to understand better the perception and assess the usability attributes of clinicians. The study has been finished and discussed with MITA, following which MITA commenced the drafting of a Technology Roadmap for the virtualisation of applications and/or desktops within the health enterprise. IT Systems Development/Enhancements/Reporting The IMU has continued to offer operational support and