Nurses are increasing doubtful of the benefits of the
NHS's £12.4bn National Programme for IT (NPfIT) and do not believe
they have been adequately consulted about it, a major survey
shows.
The findings echo concerns expressed by doctors that their views
have not been sufficiently taken into account.
The Royal College of Nursing poll of nearly 4,500 nurses is the
largest ever survey of nurses' attitudes to IT. It found that just
40% of nurses felt current IT developments were a good use of NHS
money – fewer than the 43% who disagreed.
The level of dissatisfaction has more than doubled since last
year when only 21% of nurses disagreed and is nearly four times
higher than the 2004 figure of 11%.
A majority of nurses – 56% – still felt the IT developments
would improve patient care. But that figure too has fallen, from
70% in 2004.
The survey found that only 12% felt they had been adequately
consulted about the NHS's IT plans. It also highlighted a lack of
IT training for nurses.
While 95% of respondents thought nurse training was central to
the success of the proposed electronic patient health record – a
core part of NPfIT – nearly seven out of 10 nurses said they had
received no IT training.
Royal College of Nursing general secretary Beverly Malone said,
"Nurses will be by far the largest group of health professionals
using NHS IT systems, yet they are hardly being consulted or
informed about developments. We know from experience that if
frontline staff are not involved in change, it fails."
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