The HSE has published its National Service Plan 2026, which details how this year’s budget of €29 billion will be invested. 

Among the priorities is the National Maternity and Newborn Electronic Health Record (EHR) system, which will be deployed to four of the remaining 13 maternity units this year. It is also planned that the Shared Care Record (SCR) will be implemented in the Dublin South East region and implementation will commence in two other regions. An enterprise EHR and associated clinical applications will be deployed at the National Children’s Hospital Ireland (NCHI), and selection of a vendor to supply the national EHR will be completed.

Over the coming 12 months, the HSE plans to progress development of the community care record (Community Connect). The record will provide a single, national clinical management system for community care that enables integrated care, efficient service delivery, and consistent data sharing across all health regions. The initiative will be implemented in two health regions in 2026.

Further functionality will be incorporated into the HSE Health App. Three major functionality releases are scheduled for 2026. The expanded features will enable patients to manage their digital health identity, personal health information, care co-ordination, and access to healthcare. 

The Executive also plans to complete go-live of the Hospital Medicines Management System at 12 sites, along with a complete service level go-live of the national medicinal product catalogue Solution.

In 2026, the Integrated Financial Management System (IFMS) will be rolled-out to a selection of Section 38 and 39 agencies, and an eRostering system will be delivered at four regional sites. 

In order to drive innovation with the health service, a National Innovation Pathway is to be implemented to create a centralised innovation project repository and define innovation-ready procurement models. Standardised assessment and evaluation tools will be created, along with a new digital tool kit for benchmarking and progression metrics.

CEO comments

Commenting on the service plan, HSE CEO Bernard Gloster, said: “We enter 2026 with the foundations of organisational reform in place and a clear Government mandate to accelerate improvements in service delivery for the people we serve. The establishment of six health regions under Sláintecare and 20 integrated health areas, marks a critical step towards planning and delivering services around the specific needs of local populations leading to better co-ordination of care and improved access to services. This transition to population-focused funding aligns resources with need and empowers health regions to deliver integrated, responsive care, with the ultimate goal of achieving better health outcomes. 2026 is the first year and first major step towards the type of resource allocation and the pathway set by the Minister is clear – we must look at all resources existing and new together to achieve the priorities for the people.

“In addition, the expansion of community-based care and progress in digital transformation have marked important steps in our progress to date. We continue to work to enhance hospital services, improving patient flow, efficiency and capacity, and introducing new models of care to support timely treatment and better outcomes. The goal of right care, right place, right time can be our only real target as we balance the critical success factors of access, safety and outcome.”