IT SOLUTIONS
Parliament’s powerful Public Ac- counts Committee (PAC) has joined the growing chorus de- manding that the controversial National Programme for IT should be scrapped, declaring it “un- workable”.
The £11.4bn project was started in 2002 with the aim of reducing paper files by providing an elec- tronic file for each patient on the NHS, as well as increasing the speed of internet connections.
However, mounting problems
have resulted in the MPs calling it a “worthwhile aim, but one that has proved beyond the capacity” of government to deliver.
Some parts of the NHS, such as London, have already mainly opted out. This means that Trusts must develop individual systems that are still compatible with the national programme. At the mo-
ment, there is little direction about how this could work practically.
Committee chairman Margaret
Hodge said: “Trying to create a one-size-fits-all system in the NHS was a massive risk and has proven to be unworkable. It should now urgently review whether it is worth continuing with the remain- ing elements of the care records system.”
Ministers are considering whether the project should be stopped, and the remaining £4.3bn used on different systems that would pro- vide more value for money.
However, PAC was earlier told that scrapping these contracts could cost more than fulfilling them.
The Department of Health said the scheme is under review and that it always seeks to provide best value for money.
The Information Commissioner has called a meeting with NHS chief ex- ecutive Sir David Nicholson to dis- cuss the millions of personal medi- cal records lost by health service trusts and hospitals.
The commissioner, Christopher Graham, said he will impose fines of up to £500,000 to counter what he called a “disturbing” culture in the health service.
He told The Independent newspa- per: “There’s just too much of this stuff going on. The senior manage- ment is aware of the challenge but the breaches continue. Whether it’s a systemic problem in the NHS or an epidemic we have got to do something about it. Health service workers look after their patients very carefully but don’t always look after their data very carefully.”
He said there was a “market” in unlawfully obtained personal data because there were people willing
74 | national health executive Jul/Aug 11
to pay, including tabloid journalists, lawyers, scammers, and the insur- ance industry.
He called for an increase in the penalties imposed in such cases, brought under section 55 of the Data Protection Act, telling the newspaper: “It’s a much wider problem and we do need some tougher penalties because the courts don’t seem to regard it as a terribly serious offence.”
NHS organisations with recent data security issues include Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, a medical practice in Durham, East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust, Lancashire
Teaching Hospitals
NHS Foundation Trust and Basil- don and Thurrock NHS Trust.
The Information Commissioner is also investigating how the NHS North Central London Trust man- aged to lose a laptop containing an estimated 8.3m patient records.
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