Technology will be good for our health

Do not forget the scale of the challenge -­ this is the largest non-military IT project in the world.

The goal must be to get it right first time every time -­ but don’t be surprised if that is not always the case

For the advocates of the NHS National Programme for IT, working on the project must feel rather like being part of an unfinished Rolf Harris painting: “Can you see what it is yet?”

Amid all the criticisms of the ambitious £12.7bn scheme, the one defence that has for so long been unavailable is real-life experience.

So it must be with great relief that Connecting for Health, the agency delivering the programme, is starting to see some live working examples of the technology in action.

Computing’s behind-the-scenes tour of Homerton hospital in London shows what a difference IT is beginning to make for the health service.

Rapid access to information at the fingertips of medical staff, improved communications and digital imaging are all contributing to better patient care.

Of course, this doesn’t take away from the many challenges that remain ­ not least the use of electronic patient records that sits at the heart of the programme and is suffering from the worst over-runs.

There will be more mistakes made. There will be further delays, and some hospitals will inevitably encounter problems as they go live on new applications.

The goal must be to get it right first time every time -­ but don’t be surprised if that is not always the case. The test will be whether the contingency measures are in place when needed.

Do not forget the scale of the challenge -­ this is the largest non-military IT project in the world.

There have been, and will continue to be, judgement calls made along the way that some will not agree with, and those critics will be vocal and undoubtedly louder than the advocates.

The final result may not even be the same as it is currently envisaged; there may well be further changes needed to ensure success, some of which will be pragmatic, some enforced.

But the vision of a technology-enabled NHS fit for the 21st century is worth the wait.