Government-imposed deadlines were unrealistic and to blame for the four-year delays to the National Programme for IT (NPfIT), according to the British Medical Association (BMA).

The comments came after last week’s National Audit Office report revealed that delays ­ mostly with the Summary Care Records system ­ are widely responsible for increasing staff disillusionment with the programme.

“It is clear from the NAO report that the setting of unrealistic deadlines has been damaging to the national programme,” said Chaand Nagpaul, GP negotiator with responsibility for IT in the BMA.

“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.”

Edward Leigh, chairman of the National Audit Office, said the fate of the programme now depends entirely on improved clinical engagement.

“Commitment from NHS staff is central to the success of the programme,” he said.
“Much more work needs to be done in convincing NHS staff of the benefits that should arise from a fully functioning system.”

While the N3 broadband network, the Choose and Book appointment booking service, a Pacs digital X-ray scheme and an Electronic Prescription Service met their deadlines, the Summary Care Records Scheme is delayed by four years until 2014.

This should now become a major priority for Connecting for Health ­ the agency which runs the scheme ­ according to Tim Burr, head of the NAO.

“There are serious delays in delivering the new care records systems, and the priority now is to finish developing and deploying these systems,” he said.

Planned “go live” dates were missed for many of the first Trusts to take the new systems.

Delays with iSOFT’s Lorenzo patient software, now expected to be ready this summer and to be used in the North, Midlands and East, are causing particular problems. There have also been issues with Cerner’s Millenium software in the South.

In the interim, local service providers have upgraded legacy systems to plug the gap.
The Department of Health apologised for the delay, citing patient confidentiality concerns.