An East Clare councillor has encouraged hospitals to let individuals take personal responsibility for their medical records.

Following an address from HSE officials at a recent meeting of Clare County Council, Cllr Alan O’Callaghan (FF) questioned why the medical records of patients were not being stored electronically.

“Why does a hospital have to keep someone’s hospital records? I know it costs massive money to store them,” the Kilmurry representative stated. He remarked, “The Koran and the Bible wouldn’t be as high as some of the records”.

He suggested that for each patient, all their details would be stored on a memory stick that they would have to take personal responsibility for.

CEO of UL Hospitals Group, Colette Cowan informed the meeting that they are legally obliged to hold records for “up to many years”. She detailed that the process of establishing a national electronic record is underway and will be aided by PPS numbers.

She flagged that the current system proves to be very valuable for doctors and nurses in certain scenarios. “It is important to have a record if you come in unconscious or have nobody with you”.

Advertisement

Related News

rineen ns 1
11 Clare schools removed from Hot School Meals scheme
green cross pharmacy killaloe
Two men arrested who drove into Garda car after series of burglaries in Killaloe & Roscrea
gerardine joe quinlivan 1
Springfield residents can sleep soundly as flooding nightmare ends
ambulance coast guard scariff 1
Bodyke hurler recovering after picking up head injury which forced abandonment of game vs Whitegate
Latest News
mikey o'neill sean kennedy 1-2
O'Neill rolls back the years to nab player of the week
clonlara v crusheen 23-08-25 oisin o'brien breffni horner 1
'We left it behind us against The Bridge' - Crusheen reflect on latest championship crusade
green cross pharmacy killaloe
Two men arrested who drove into Garda car after series of burglaries in Killaloe & Roscrea
naomh eoin v liscannor 03-08-25 darren nagle 1
Liscannor extend life in intermediate ranks & send Ennistymon into relegation decider
gerardine joe quinlivan 1
Springfield residents can sleep soundly as flooding nightmare ends
Premium
st josephs miltown vs doonbeg 30-08-25 conor cleary darragh burns 1
Miltown down Doonbeg and march onto quarter-finals
kildysart v kilmihil 29-08-25 conall casey stan lineen 1
Kildysart produce extra time kick to seal senior status & leave Kilmihil in relegation final
feakle v newmarket-on-fergus 08-08-25 oisin donnellan 1
'Next man up' the focus in Feakle despite injury crisis
Shannon, Ireland, June
Shannon will not receive 15 extra Gardaí despite claims of Govt TDs
Springfield3
€5.2m Springfield flood relief scheme 'makes fear & devastation of flooding a thing of the past' in Clonlara

Advertisement

Subscribe for just €3 per month

If you’re here, you care about County Clare. So do we. Did you rely on us for Covid-19 updates, follow our election coverage, or visit The Clare Echo every week for breaking news and sport? The Clare Echo invests in local journalism and we want to safeguard its future in our county. By becoming a subscriber you are supporting what we do, will receive access to all our premium articles and a better experience, while helping us improve our offering to you. Subscribe to clareecho.ie and get the first six months for just €3 a month (less than 75c per week), and thereafter €8 per month. Cancel anytime, limited time offer. T&Cs Apply. www.clareecho.ie.