09 June 2006
The architect and leader of the NHS National Programme for IT has defended the £20bn computer scheme on the eve of the publication of an audit report.
In an exclusive interview with Public Finance, Richard Granger, chief executive of NHS Connecting for Health, said the programme was 'roughly to timetable'.
But he said the programme had 'well underspent' on the £2.3bn allocated in the last spending round, blaming suppliers of specialist clinical software for failing to deliver on time. 'We have some problems with lack of capacity in the clinical systems domain.'
NHS trusts have also failed to increase their spending on IT in line with the 2002 Wanless review's recommendations, he said.
The National Audit Office is expected next week to publish a long-delayed report into contracts worth £6.3bn placed by the programme, and progress so far.
'We are working to ensure the report is based on evidence and is balanced,' Granger said. He is due to give evidence before the Public Accounts Committee on June 26.
In the run-up to the NAO report, some media investigations have focused on difficulties faced by NHS trusts in implementing new IT systems.
Granger attacked this as misleading. In those trusts that did have problems, factors other than IT were often to blame, he said. 'We know there's a correlation between the maturity of the organisation and the lack of disruption as they put these things in.' Reforms to the NHS in England would make the national IT programme more, not less, crucial, he said.
See full interview next week
PFjun2006
