Is Our £12.7 Billion Nhs Computer System On The Brink Of Failure?

By Author: Blueford Ups
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Key parts of a £12.7bn programme to upgrade the NHS's IT network are on the brink of failure, a powerful group of MPs from all parties warned today.

The Commons public accounts committee (PAC) said recent progress in installing a new care records system to hospitals across England was making limited progress.

The idea is to link 30,000 GPs to about 300 hospitals across England, giving NHS staff instant access to medical notes of 50,000 patients at every stage of their diagnosis, treatment and discharge.

A completion date is more likely to be around 2014 - four years later than originally hoped. But apparently even this is optimistic, according to MPs.

There are also plans to install an alternative Millennium system in the south of England, but this is in doubt after the government terminated the contract of Fujitsu - the service provider.

The committee said: "The programme is not providing value for money at present . . . Unless the position on care records system deployments improves appreciably in the very near future (ie within the next six months), the Department of Health should assess ...
... the financial case for allowing [hospital] trusts to put forward applications for central funding for alternative systems."

MPs said: "Ultimately data security and confidentiality rely on the actions of individual members of NHS staff in handling care records and other patient data. To help provide assurance, the department and the NHS should set out clearly the disciplinary sanctions that will apply in the event that staff breaches security procedures."

Author: Blueford Ups
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