Castlebridge Associates

The unfolding tragedy of children and young adults who have died in the care of the Health Service Executive has cast a harsh light on the failings of the system and, significantly, of the management and governance of critical information within that system.

Ultimately, Information is Fuel for decision and action in organisations so the awareness of the value of information and the effective planning, management, and governance of that Asset should be a critical management responsibility, particularly where the quality or availability of information can cost lives.

Data Protection

The claims by the HSE that they cannot provide data on children who have died due to Data Protection issues is, on the face of it, incorrect. The Data Protection Acts 1988 and 2003 provide protections to living individuals, a fact which is clearly highlighted in the HSE's own FAQ on Data Protection. 

While there might be personal data relating to other living individuals contained in some of the files relating to children who have died in State care, such information should be readily identifiable and redacted.  

It may well be that, depending on the specific issues in a given case, disclosures of some or all of this data to a Government Enquiry could fall within the scope of the various exemptions, specifically where the disclosure would protect the vital interests of the child in care.

Information Quality

It is clear that the HSE has a serious Information Quality problem. Information Quality is the degree to which information can be a trusted source for all required uses.

The issues which have been highlighted in recent days in the HSE raise a number of questions in the context of this definition relating to the completeness of information within files, the consistency of information across or between files, the accuracy of information, and the timeliness of information relating to the care of children by the State. The systems and processes in this area of the HSE appear to be a bottle neck to delivery of information which is accurate, reliable, and trusted.

Even when the HSE produces its revised figures on the number of deaths in care for the Minister, there may be challenges in restoring trust in that information.

It would seem at this stage that the HSE might paraphrase the "Rime of the Ancient Mariner" as they appear to have “Data, Data everywhere but not a drop of Fact”.

Action

These kinds of problems can be prevented. Preventing these kinds of problems has been shown by numerous studies across different industries to reduce costs in organisation by anything up to 30%. In industries as diverse as Pharmaceuticals and Telecommunications, organisations world wide daily reap financial, customer service and other benefits from high quality, well managed, trusted information.

There are established principles and best practices available for the management of Information through its life cycle. Effective leadership in the form of a clear strategy and vision, coupled with informed and aware management actions can improve the quality and effectiveness of information while contributing to cost reductions in the HSE. This should be recognised as a leadership challenge and opportunity for the relevant Ministers and management of the HSE and not another IT problem to be solved.

Where lives are at stake, Best Practice is the minimum benchmark that should be accepted.