The Department of Health has come under fire for "rushing"
the preparations for its £2.3bn investment in national IT systems
such as electronic patient records, despite complexities that make
the implementation plans more ambitious than those for projects
that have failed in the past.
Officials have resorted to using an emergency provision under
European tendering law, called "accelerated" procedures, to appoint
a company to help run a new programme office, costing up to £1m a
month.The new office will manage the £2.3bn IT spend.
The accelerated procedures allow the Department of Health to reduce
the time taken to choose a private sector organisation by about
five weeks.
The department said it is using emergency provisions because of
"unforeseen circumstances", which have led to officials needing to
recruit external "key managerial staff" rather relying on in-house
personnel.
The use of more usual recruiting procedures "would be impracticable
for reasons of urgency" and would "result in delay to the
procurement of the [national IT] programme and consequent
irreparable disadvantage", the Department of Health said.
Further evidence that speed is driving the national IT programme
came in a paper published last month. In "The National Programme
for IT in the NHS" the Department of Health said it wants as its
first principle the "commitment of all parties to do things
quickly".
But suppliers said this allows little or no margin for error. "We
have no idea of who is doing what on the national programme yet.
There are still people being appointed, yet [health officials] plan
to appoint major consortia for the national programme by the
spring," said one NHS supplier.
Suppliers also said there are no clear plans on how the department
will get commitments to the national programme from doctors, nurses
and local IT specialists.
Tim Williams of Millstream Associates, an expert in tendering
rules, said, "The overall effect is that the contract worth £12.5m
a year is awarded five weeks earlier than using more normal
European procedures.
"I am sure that the man in the street would rather wait an extra
five weeks for systems that work than rush into the procurement of
£2.3bn worth of new systems that are inadequately specified."
The Department of Health insisted it is "going as rapidly as good
practice allows".