By Alex Klaushofer
NHS bodies might be given more freedom to choose their own IT systems while waiting for the delayed patient records system, the head of the NHS has said.
NHS bodies might be given more freedom to choose their own IT systems while waiting for the delayed patient records system, the head of the NHS has said.‘I’m looking at ways in which we can decentralise and give hospitals more control and also at the same time keep the benefits of the national programme,’ NHS chief executive David Nicholson told the Commons’ Public Accounts Committee on February 2.
An investigation published by the Times and Computer Weekly this week claimed that the delays and escalating costs of government IT contracts were costing taxpayers an estimated £18.6bn extra.
The NHS contracts concern a deal to supply software packages that allow records to be accessed across the NHS.
‘The idea that you could by attrition drive a national programme into an NHS that was unwilling to accept it simply is not deliverable,’ Nicholson said. ‘So we’ve been looking at ways in which we decentralise and give more power to the NHS, so we get much more of a pull to the system.’
Decisions by individual trusts to buy their own interim systems until a centralised system becomes available would not mean an extra bill for the NHS, he added. But if trusts rejected the national system permanently, compensation due to the supplier could increase.
Nicholson also told the committee he expected the NHS to find efficiency savings of £15bn over the next three years.
According to the annual report, NHS Summarised Accounts 2007/08, NHS bodies have met or exceeded their Gershon savings targets, prompting MPs to ask whether inefficiencies remained in the system.
Nicholson added: ‘We do believe there is scope for ratcheting up efficiency and productivity in the NHS.’
