Connelly promises clarity by year end

03 Nov 2008

An in-depth internal review of the National Programme for IT in the NHS has been launched by the new chief information officer for health, Christine Connelly.

E-Health Insider has learned that the objective is to formulate an action plan that can ensure the objectives of NHS IT modernisation can be delivered.

Where previous reviews have been about how to tweak plan A, there is now an acknowledgement that more far-reaching changes may be needed. There is also a willingness to look again at what had been sacred cows.

“Something has to be done. We’ve got to a position where the South has stopped, London has stopped, and they are going to have to do something,” said one source.

A clear indication of the re-think, particularly on patient record systems for hospitals, is set out in a letter from Connelly to the Financial Times. In the letter, she denies press claims that NPfIT has ground to a halt. She says there have been "a number of important successes."

However, Connelly, who took up the new post of CIO for health in September, says it is "sensible" to review the experience of the first hospitals to install strategic Care Records System software from Cerner and iSoft.

“As with any major release of software, it is sensible to review the experience of an early adopter site before rolling the system out more widely – not only to fix technical issues but also to manage the impact on working practices,” she says in the letter.

She adds: “I feel strongly that any version of the system needs to work well before we attempt to expand its use. That is why we have provided additional support to early adopter sites and will use this experience to inform future decisions.”

Connelly also says she is placing a priority on better local configuration, and retaining the ability to still share patient information between clinicians.

She promises to provide plans for a new approach by year end: “I see it as a priority to bring clarity to these issues at the earliest opportunity. I will be working with colleagues across the NHS to bring forward plans by the end of the year.”

E-Health Insider's source said any revised approach will inevitably depend on renegotiating the two remaining local service provider contracts to deliver something workable - almost certain to be far less ambitious than originally contracted for.

But with ex-LSP Fujitsu rumoured to be pursuing a legal claim of between £350m to £750m on its LSP contract, terminated after a year of ultimately unsuccessful re-negotiations, this is not going to be easy. CfH has still to complete a similarly long-running contract re-negotiation with CSC.

The source expressed concern that a new plan for NPfIT must not throw away the achievements that have been won in many areas.

Jon Hoeksma

Reader's Comments

I'd recomend

03 Nov 08 16:39

Well I'd recomend two basic chnges;

1) specify with rigorous enforcement a set of nationaly (i.e. Wales, Scotland and NI) applicable standard message exchange formats based on working examples for the exchange of summary clinical reports.

2) Get the money back from the LSPs on the basis of contract delivery failure and divide it up amongst end user organisations - i.e. each unit has its own budget. Let them buy the systems they feel they need with only one proviso - that they meet 1) above.

Then stand back and see what happens. Regards Paul Cundy

Prolonging the misery?

04 Nov 08 06:43

Reading between the lines, it sounds as if NPfIT might be given life support rather than euthanasia. If ever a programme needed a "mercy killing" this must be the one!

Important or urgent ?

04 Nov 08 11:40

We can only hope that new, intelligent minds will clearly see the flaws of the past 5 years - the urgent requirement is to use the best of the systems that exist today to enable progress on the ground. Convergence can come later.

Euthanasia the best option

05 Nov 08 14:41

Dread to think where a further renegotiation with the last 2 LSPs standing will lead. I beleive this model was fatally flawed from the start, and that if these wonderful, secret, contracts are worth anything, that the CIO should

a) invoke failure clauses to stop the nonsense, and terminate the LSP contracts b) look to tactical and incremental approaches to supporting electronic practice c) not repeat the cardinal mistake of employing a phalynx of management consultants (or letting CfH staff) in creating yet another mega strategy from the ashes of this one d) clarify that local means PCT and Trust, not SHA, and ensure money or proven, flexible solutions get to localities.

Another Review?

06 Nov 08 23:12

As the Hayes independent review of the National Programme is already due to report by December, would it not make sense for the new review team to actually communicate with the Hayes team, and save a lot of effort?

Reviewing reviews

07 Nov 08 14:45

As previous reader says - theere is already the Hayes Review ongoing - which has a specific brief that complements but does not subsume the post-Swindells HI Review Action Plan which was supposed to see the light of day in the Autumn - is that the one which Ms Connelly is refrring to; in which case has Autumn taken on the elastic definition that the I4H Frank Burns Review did when the spring daffodils emerged in late Summer??? or is that another review?? We must grasp the nettle and get on with things (albeit selectively) - blight, and during it, escalating costs for little return, does no good to the NHS and the patients it serves!