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'Golden opportunity' for rethink on NHS computers missed, says MP

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RICHARD BACON MP, a member of the Commons public accounts committee, has said a 'golden opportunity' for the Government to rethink its controversial NHS computer upgrade has been missed.

Mr Bacon called for the rethink after IT firm Accenture last week withdrew from the £12.4 billion programme.  However, NHS Connecting for Health moved quickly to  hand Accenture's contracts for the North East and Eastern regions to the American software firm Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). 

Accenture had been working on a wider variety of healthcare computer systems than any other contractor under the scheme.  The firm had earlier published a joint review with CSC, stating that the largest software supplier to the NHS computer programme, iSoft, has ‘no believable plans’ for future releases of its key product, Lorenzo.

Mr Bacon said: “This just replaces one regional contractor with another which has less experience”.

“However, the main problem is not with the regional contractors but with the product they are being asked to implement, iSOFT’s Lorenzo system, which still does not work properly”.

“This was the conclusion which CSC and Accenture themselves reached in their joint review of the Lorenzo system in February 2006, which states: “there is no well defined scope and therefore no believable plan for releases” and that there is “no evidence for the development, nor testing of, technical procedures that would be required for operation and maintenance of the live system”.”

Mr Bacon added: “By passing the baton to CSC with indecent haste, the government has missed a golden opportunity to think again and to give more control to hospitals locally. I feel very sorry for hospitals who will have to put up with more delays and with systems that just don't work properly”.

1 October 2006

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