A new framework for NHS IT contracts has not proved very
successful for anybody so far, according a senior member of the
British Computer Society.
A few hospital trusts have used the framework to buy IT
equipment from companies other than BT and CSC, the two local
service providers under the National Programme for IT.
The framework,
Additional
Supply and Capability and Capacity was introduced last year.
NHS Connecting for Health said it aimed to supplement local service
provider contracts and provide contingency should products from the
main suppliers prove inadequate.
But Hayes told the Conservative Technology Forum at Westminster
this week that "the smaller suppliers find it too bureaucratic" and
find that the costs are "higher than they would want to get
business".
Some of the larger suppliers complain that the framework brings
a "fair number of mavericks" into the National Programme, he
said.
Hayes also told the forum that NHS Connecting for Health is
"making a great song and dance" about the
Summary Care Record, part of the GP patient's record which is
uploaded to a central Oracle spine run by BT.
"I know there are a lot of problems with it and I don't know how
well they are being addressed," he said.
NHS Connecting for Health wants 50 million people in England to
have a Summary Care Record.
Hayes said the NPfIT has had "quite a lot of success," and that
most people agree that the original vision of NPfIT is "still
OK".
But he added that he worries slightly about "some of the things
they claim to be a success because I know the problems they are
still having out there".
One system that will make a real difference patients is
electronic prescribing. Hayes said that IT systems to allow an
ambulance crew in Brighton to see the records of a patient who
lives in Birmingham will have "trivial" benefits when compared to
e-prescribing.
"In this country we kill hundreds of people every year because
of medication errors," he said. Electronic prescribing should help
ensure that prescriptions are accurate, error-free and
understandable.
Hayes is leading a review of the NPfIT for the Conservative
Party. He told the Forum that the review is complete but he cannot
reveal its contents yet.
NHS Connecting for Health has appointed 61 suppliers under the
Additional Supply and Capability agreement, including SMEs.
Some NHS trusts have already used the ASCC to award contracts
outside of the contractual arrangements between the Department of
Health and two main NPfIT suppliers BT and CSC, the programme's
local service providers.
NPfIT - the good and not so good - IT Projects Blog
>>
Summary Care Record - some of the problems - IT Projects Blog
>>