Specialists preparing software for a roll-out to NHS hospitals
this year under the £12.7bn NHS
National Programme for IT (NPfIT) have been trying to fix
hundreds of issues in the initial release, according to a
confidential report seen by Computer Weekly and The Guardian.
They also had to contend with hundreds of new issues as fixes
arrived to address old problems. They are working on the delayed
"
Lorenzo" system for hospitals, which will cover 30 million
people in the Midlands and the north of England.
The
Lorenzo Care Records Service is already running four years behind
schedule, according to a report published last month by the
National Audit Office. Lorenzo was due originally to start rolling
out in 2004. A key aim of the system is to provide doctors and
nurses with
electronic health records wherever they are needed.
The latest problems could cause further delays in the roll-out
of the Care Records Service. Under the NPfIT, Lorenzo is one of two
main software products for hospitals in England, the other being
Cerner's "Millennium" software.
Ben Bradshaw, the minister in charge of the NPfIT, has told
parliament that Lorenzo will start rolling out to the NHS this
year. Morecambe Bay Hospitals NHS Trust was due to be the first
hospital to go live with the basic Lorenzo Release 1 on 16 June
2008 but it has postponed the go-live, possibly until next month. A
new date has yet to be set, its spokeswoman told Computer
Weekly.
The leaked report says there were, at one point this year, more
than 1,000 issues in Lorenzo release 1. The much more complex and
functional Release 2 of the Lorenzo Patient Management System is
due to start rolling out this Autumn but it is unclear whether this
will happen now.
The report shows there have been internal delays with the
project to finalise Lorenzo Release 2. Several areas of the project
have been given a "red" status.
The software is being built mainly in India for the local
service provider CSC and its subcontractor IBA Health which
acquired iSoft.
A spokesman for CSC denied that outstanding issues would delay
the roll-out of Lorenzo to the NHS this year.
"It is still planned that early adopters will go-live over the
summer," she said. Asked if the Lorenzo product was fit for
purpose, she said, "Absolutely, and it is endorsed by
NHS Connecting for Health, the early adopters and the
clinicians who have already viewed it.
"Identifying and resolving issues is to be expected within any
major software design programme. We are working with the trusts,
NHS CFH and iSOFT to ensure Lorenzo meets the needs of the
NHS."
The spokeswoman did not confirm that Release 2 would go live at
NHS trusts in the autumn, but said that testing would begin
then.
"Release 1 includes clinical functionality and lays the
foundation for subsequent release of Lorenzo We are currently
working on the Release 2 schedule and expect that early adopters
for Release 2 will commence testing in the Autumn as planned."
A spokesman for NHS Connecting for Health said, " Lorenzo is
being rigorously tested at early adopter sites with differing care
settings and geographies to ensure it meets the necessary quality
criteria and is relevant to the needs of diverse healthcare
communities prior to going live within a working healthcare
environment.
"Designed to reflect patient journeys and support the modern
NHS, the Lorenzo early adopter projects will deliver capability in
acute and community services as a first step towards building a
truly integrated care record across the entire healthcare delivery
system."