Edinburgh Council chiefs have been accused of "panicking" at the publication of a damning report which highlighted major IT issues in health and social care, despite being aware of the problems for several years.
The computer system used to store and manage care users personal health data, known as Swift, is "old technology" which poses risks across the service and "needs to be replaced," the council said, as plans were unveiled to accelerate a "digital transformation" which could cost tens of millions.
The timing of the admission has raised eyebrows amongst councillors however - as it came just days after external inspectors revealed "structural weaknesses" in Edinburgh's health and social care partnership.
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The council’s "assessment and care management IT systems" were described as "out of date and not fit for purpose" in a Care Inspectorate report published last week which said the issues were stifling the overall delivery of care in the city.
A separate report, drawn up by the council's new executive director for corporate services, appeared before the finance committee on Thursday (March 30) and said plans for a "digital transformation across health and social care" would be presented to councillors in June - four months earlier than expected.
Dr Deborah Smart, who started in the role last month, said there were "serious concerns" around the continued use of the "end of life" Swift system.
She wrote that these include carers having to spend a lot of their time inputting and retrieving information, lack of compatibility with other important healthcare systems, issues with the "quality and accuracy of data" and even "significant overpayments" to carers.
She added: "Information needs to be stored outside of Swift. This is not GDPR compliant and has significant data security risks."
Councillor Phil Doggart, Conservatives, said: "The problems around Swift are not new. It didn't take the Care Inspectorate to publish a report saying there were IT issues. The issues with Swift have been known since 2016.
"We now have a system after 17 years which is on its last legs and it seems to me bizarre that we would allow a system to get to the end of its life and have something that, dare I say, it seems like a bit of a panic because we've been found out.
"It seems like a panic measure. It's the right measure - but it's a panic measure, and my concern is that if it took outsiders to see what the problems were with how we ran things internally that is a serious issue around managerial capability.
"We need to have a system that works for everyone who uses the services. We need to provide the appropriate technology so our social care staff are not spending time on outdated systems."
Dr Smart said: "I feel that we need to accelerate this given the audit report, given some of the difficulties with the system, the lack of data that we can get out of the current system.
"I want to bring that forward to members as soon as possible for consideration. It's not about rushing it, it's about doing it properly, but it is about doing it quickly because I think that needs to happen."
Lib Dem councillor Lewis Younie said: "As a council we've continually just been, my understanding is, kicking the can down the road every year.
"I'm concerned that we'll be in this same position next year."
He added "tens of millions" would be required for the overhaul.
The report said it was likely the council's budget, which was set last month, would need to be revised to ensure funding can be put in place for the transformation.
However, the Care Inspectorate said it could be "several years" before an improved system could be introduced.
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