COMPUTER SAYS NO
New NHS IT system put patients in jeopardy
The government’s £12 billion project to create a single NHS computer system hit yet more trouble last week when attempts to set it up in London caused chaos. It failed to work at the Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, the first acute hospital in London to have it installed, and NHS leaders in London suspended further implementation. An internal NHS document said glitches with the system could put patients at risk of being misdiagnosed.
Staff have reverted to using pen and paper, and plans to introduce the system at four other London trusts have been postponed until next year. The future of the project, which is four years behind schedule and vastly more expensive than predicted, is in the balance.

BLAIR’S BIG IDEA
Simplifying access to patient records
The ambitious scheme grew out of a meeting in Downing Street in February 2002 at which Tony Blair approved an IT system for the NHS that would allow doctors to access patients’ records from anywhere in the country. In principle it sounded bold and beneficial; in practice it provoked questions from doctors about the risks to patient confidentiality and whether such a giant project was necessary or value for money. The programme Blair announced was the world’s biggest civil IT project and had an original budget of £6 billion - a figure that more than doubled. Six years on, the only winners have been the management and IT consultants supposed to be creating it.

WHAT WENT WRONG?
The budget, the software and the strategy
Since tests began there have been numerous technical problems and changes among contractors. The NHS is facing a £700m legal action from the Japanese computer firm Fujitsu, which was fired from the project this year. BT has been asked to take over the work but a deal has not been agreed. In June last year Richard Granger, the head of the project, quit. Some experts also question the strategic design. Tony Collins, executive editor of Computer Weekly, warned that the system’s security was based on taking action against people retrospectively rather than stopping private data being accessed. Dr Chaand Nagpaul, a British Medical Association spokesman on IT, said: “In many instances we have seen political zeal override common sense.”

THE WIDER DIAGNOSIS
It’s bleeding money and there’s no cure in sight
In May the National Audit Office said the project was feasible - but that was before the Fujitsu debacle and the bailout of banks hit by the credit crisis. Could or should the project be cancelled to save money? The government believes the political and financial costs of scrapping the vast contracts are too high. The Conservatives support the principle of the IT system but are committed to conducting a full review. Doctors have mixed feelings. Nagpaul said: “We support it in broad terms but we have a wealth of issues around confidentiality, patient consent, technical issues and data security.” The upshot: Blair’s plan is likely to cost even more - and is not likely to be ready until well into the next decade.

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