By Julie Read
The already delayed NHS Care Records Service, part of an overhaul of the IT system, might not go fully online until after 2015, senior MPs predicted this week.
The Public Accounts Committee gave a damning critique of the implementation of the plans in a report, The National Programme for IT in the NHS: progress since 2006, published on January 27.
The failed negotiations between the NHS and one of the four initial suppliers, Fujitsu, over finance and commercial aspects, have put the already postponed deadline back even further in the South of England.
Trusts in the Midlands, North and eastern England have been forced to use an interim system because of the delays. The estimated cost of the programme is £12.7bn, including £3.6bn of local costs, but the final bill remains uncertain, the MPs said.
According to the report, taxpayers will still have to cover the costs to the suppliers even if trusts decide not to use the new systems. It added that they have been deployed by only 133 of the 380 trusts.
PAC chair Edward Leigh said: ‘The risks to the successful delivery of the National Programme for IT are as serious as ever. Essential systems are late or, when deployed, do not meet expectations of clinical staff; estimates of local costs are still very unreliable; and, despite action to secure their commitment, many NHS staff remain unenthusiastic.’
He added: ‘It is also worrying that, if trusts decide not to deploy the patient care records systems, the taxpayer can still be obliged to make payments to the suppliers concerned.’
The report said that trusts should not be expected to deploy care records systems that aren’t working properly. He added that if the situation did not improve, the Department of Health should consider allowing trusts to apply for funding for alternative systems.
The report also said that convincing NHS staff of the benefits of the new system would remain crucial to the future success of the reforms.
