NAO condemns patient record timetable

Plans to create electronic patient records across the NHS were "unachievable" and "unrealistic", a National Audit Office (NAO) report has concluded.

The national programme for IT in the NHS is proving to be an "enormous challenge", the report notes, but says its original goals remain feasible and that progress is being made.

When the scheme was launched all patients in the NHS were supposed to have an electronic patient record by 2010.

Failing timescales have seen this target date now put back to 2014/15 and there is even doubt about this being possible in the north, Midlands and east of England.

NAO head Tim Burr said "serious delays" had been experienced in the delivering the care record systems.

"The scale of the challenge involved in delivering the national programme for IT has proved to be far greater than envisaged at the start," he commented.

"Progress is being made, however, and financial savings and other benefits are beginning to emerge.

"The priority now is to finish developing and deploying care records systems that will help NHS Trusts to achieve the programme’s intended benefits of improved services and better patient care."

The NAO concludes that support of NHS staff for the scheme is vital to its success but the BMA, responding to the report, said many doctors are "thoroughly disillusioned" with the programme.

"Slipping deadlines for new IT systems and the premature release of systems that are not fit for purpose has been deeply frustrating for NHS staff," Dr Chaand Nagpaul said.

"The major challenge for local health organisations will be to create an environment that fosters the commitment and confidence of staff."

In a statement responding to the report the Department of Health said it "regrets" the delays in the care records service.

"We have said before that this is due to a mixture of technical complexity and to allow further time for consultation and the development of the care record guarantee, to meet the concerns that patients may otherwise have felt about the confidentiality of their records," it said.