The Conservatives have published their policy commitments on the NHS IT scheme, as a response to a review of the NPfIT, led by Glyn Hayes, former chairman of the BCS's Health Informatics Forum.
The document says a Conservative government will:
• "Halt and renegotiate the Local Service Provider contracts to prevent further inefficiencies,
subject to any applicable constraints. As the Review makes clear, neither the Review panel nor their researchers were given access to the contracts, which remain shrouded in 'commercial confidentiality'.
• "Seek to dismantle the IT central infrastructure, delivering its benefits through interoperable
local systems instead. The Review makes clear that swathes of the Government's national
structures are outdated and irrelevant. Centrally held data also raise security and privacy concerns.
• "Support and encourage Healthcare Trusts but not impose IT systems on them. Frontline
clinicians and managers are best placed to assess the needs of their hospitals and practices, and the pace of change. However, a Conservative government will also ensure the quality and
interoperability of local IT systems
• "Allow hospitals to use and develop the IT they have already purchased and developed, within a rigorous framework of interoperability.
• "Encourage the use of open source across the public sector. As healthcare IT is freed from the constraints of Labour's central programme, both private sector and open source software will develop.
• "Assess the cost effectiveness of the current National Programme for IT according to the
benefits that can be derived for patients. The Government has never published a compelling cost/ benefit analysis of the National Programme for IT. This is despite calls for one in the latest Public Accounts Committee report (27 January 2009) and in Office of Government Commerce gateway reviews (2002-2005), which periodically assessed the early progress of the Programme.
Some of the Review's conclusions are:
• A Conservative government should seek to dismantle Labour's centralised IT infrastructure.
Instead, it should introduce open standards, initially through a catalogue of accredited systems, so that local NHS IT systems can be connected together.
• A Conservative government should allow hospitals to use and develop the IT they have already purchased and to choose their own software within a rigorous framework of interoperability.
• A Conservative government should create a level playing field for software and hardware suppliers and for open source solutions across the NHS.
• A Conservative government should encourage a coordinated approach to health and social care IT so that communication between the two sectors can be improved.
The Conservatives say they "welcome these conclusions" in part because they are "consistent with our plans to free the NHS from Labour's central control and interference so that it is locally accountable to patients and can focus on improving the results of their treatment".
Links:
Conservative Party's response to review of NHS IT scheme by Glyn Hayes
Article on the response - Kable
Whitehall dismisses Tory review report on NHS IT - IT Projects blog
clinicians and managers are best placed to assess the needs of their hospitals and practices, and the pace of change. However, a Conservative government will also ensure the quality and
interoperability of local IT systems
• "Allow hospitals to use and develop the IT they have already purchased and developed, within a rigorous framework of interoperability.
• "Encourage the use of open source across the public sector. As healthcare IT is freed from the constraints of Labour's central programme, both private sector and open source software will develop.
• "Assess the cost effectiveness of the current National Programme for IT according to the
benefits that can be derived for patients. The Government has never published a compelling cost/ benefit analysis of the National Programme for IT. This is despite calls for one in the latest Public Accounts Committee report (27 January 2009) and in Office of Government Commerce gateway reviews (2002-2005), which periodically assessed the early progress of the Programme.
Some of the Review's conclusions are:
• A Conservative government should seek to dismantle Labour's centralised IT infrastructure.
Instead, it should introduce open standards, initially through a catalogue of accredited systems, so that local NHS IT systems can be connected together.
• A Conservative government should allow hospitals to use and develop the IT they have already purchased and to choose their own software within a rigorous framework of interoperability.
• A Conservative government should create a level playing field for software and hardware suppliers and for open source solutions across the NHS.
• A Conservative government should encourage a coordinated approach to health and social care IT so that communication between the two sectors can be improved.
The Conservatives say they "welcome these conclusions" in part because they are "consistent with our plans to free the NHS from Labour's central control and interference so that it is locally accountable to patients and can focus on improving the results of their treatment".
Links:
Conservative Party's response to review of NHS IT scheme by Glyn Hayes
Article on the response - Kable
Whitehall dismisses Tory review report on NHS IT - IT Projects blog
