Public Accounts Committee sceptical on 2018 deadline for NHS IT

The House of Commons Public Accounts Committee has published its latest report on the dismantled National Programme for IT in the NHS (NPfIT), which summarises the findings of the PAC hearing on the programme in June (see NHS IT: Plus ça change…?). The key facts are the same, and as a taxpayer and patient it still makes depressing reading.

For me, however, the most important message from the PAC report centres not so much on the past failings of NPfIT, but on what happens next. The report concludes that: “After the sorry history of the National Programme, we are sceptical that the Department (of Health) can deliver its vision of a paperless NHS by 2018.” I couldn’t agree more.

The good news for SITS suppliers is that they stand to benefit from renewed investment in NHS IT regardless of whether the Department of Health meets its deadline for a paperless NHS by 2018.

Eligible TechMarketView subscription clients can read our full assessment of developments - Learning lessons from the NHS’ National Programme – in our UKHotViewsExtra. 

Posted by Tola Sargeant at '16:27' - Tagged: nhs   health   policy