14 April 2006
The Department of Health has dismissed claims that a £6bn IT project is technologically unsound.
The Connecting for Health initiative, also known as the National Programme for IT, came under renewed pressure this week as academics called for an independent review of the project in a letter to the Commons health select committee.
A National Audit Office report is due in the summer but the letter claimed this would not examine the scheme's technical viability.
The initiative covers a number of IT projects, including electronic patient records, e-prescriptions and on-line appointment booking. The letter warned that the NHS required 24-hour, secure access to this information, which could put severe demands on the IT infrastructure being put in place.
It added: 'Concrete, objective information about the National Programme's progress is not available to external observers. Reliable sources within the National Programme have raised concerns about the technology itself.'
It called for a speedy and independent technical assessment of the scheme.
However, a Department of Health spokesman countered: 'We remain confident that the technical architecture of the National Programme is appropriate and will enable benefits to be delivered for patients, whilst ensuring value for money to the taxpayer.'
This is not the first time the initiative has been criticised. There have been concerns about cost, delays in implementation and security of patient information, while a number of contractors have been sacked or fined.
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