DH abandons plans for national IT programme

The Department of Health (DH) has announced that it is scrapping plans for a national IT programme, following a review of the current system.

Its review of the proposed National Programme for IT concluded that a national approach, where information is held in a central location, is no longer required, and that a locally-led system would be more appropriate.

Plans are now in place to introduce localised IT systems that will be implemented using a modular approach, allowing NHS organisations to introduce more manageable changes that are suitable for their individual needs and capacity.

The review also found that national applications that have already been developed – such as the Choose and Book appointment service, the Electronic Prescription Service and PACS – will remain in place. These applications will be integrated with current health services, but will now be managed as IT services under the general control of the NHS, instead of individual projects.

The Health Minister, Simon Burns, estimates that using a localised IT system would release £700 million that had been set aside for the project – money that he says will now be “reinvested to improve patient care”.