NHS chief executive David Nicholson has ordered a review
of Connecting for Health, the organisation running the NHS’s
£12.4bn National Programme for IT.
The Department of Health confirmed that Nicholson had
commissioned the review, to be undertaken by CfH management “to
ensure that it is correctly structured and staffed to deliver the
projected programme delivery schedule”. The review comes as CfH
prepares for executive agency status.
A DoH spokesperson added that a separate national programme was
also under way, aimed at ensuring a shift towards “local ownership”
of NPfIT as “an essential part of normal NHS business”, in line
with recommendations from the National Audit Office.
Recent re-structuring of the NHS and the transfer of NPfIT
contracts from Accenture to CSC created “a good opportunity to
undertake this work”.
NPfIT is also set to come under scrutiny by the Commons Health
Select Committee which has announced an inquiry into the
programme.
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