Conservatives ask for independent review of NHS IT

The Conservatives have enlisted a British Computer Society board member to head an independent review of NHS IT.

The review will inform Conservative policy on the future of use of IT in the NHS but will not assess current problems, review chairman Glyn Hayes said.

Hayes, a member of the NHS Health Informatics Forum Strategic Panel, will lead the review board. He said the review's remit will be far-reaching.

"The aim is to establish a vision for the future of NHS IT. By the future, we are talking about five years hence, and what should be happening. We are interested in anything where people can give informed comment on what needs to happen."

The board has issued a formal invitation to a large number of people to provide written evidence.

But it is also an open call for evidence, with anyone able to provide informed comment asked to contact the board at [email protected]

The shadow health minister Stephen O'Brien commissioned the report.

The review will look at questions such as what is the right balance between centralised and decentralised systems, and how should information be shared. But Hayes said the issues set out in his open call for evidence are not the only things he is interested in hearing about.