Modernising NHS IT systems could waste "billions"

A report by MPs shows political concerns about the total cost of the NHS Covid-19 contact-tracing app

The Department of Health ' s planned modernisation of NHS IT systems could waste massive sums of taxpayers ' money, a new report warns.

According to MPs in the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), the NHS is at the risk of repeating the same "expensive and largely unsuccessful" attempts that led to the wastage of billions of pounds of public money between 2002 and 2011.

Among such unsuccessful attempts was a programme the NHS launched to develop an integrated system across England with electronic patient records. The programme was largely unsuccessful, according to the PAC report [pdf].

Another such plan was the drive towards a paperless NHS, revealed in 2014. That target was also not achieved and, according to MPs, has now been watered down into a new target to reach a core level of digitisation by 2024.

The report notes that the NHS will need about £8 billion to deliver its 'digital transformation ambitions' but 'none' of the components essential for successful delivery are currently in place.

It further points out that various divisions of the NHS use a wide variety of IT systems, many of which are unable to interact with each other. That makes it difficult for hospitals to share scans and medical images with GPs. The report recommends that the various NHS IT systems must be able to operate and interact with each other to ensure successful delivery of the NHS's digital vision.

MPs are also concerned about the total cost of the NHS Covid-19 contact-tracing app. NHSX, the digital division of the NHS, estimates this to be about £36 million.

NHSX told MPs that it spent about £11 million on the first phase of the contact-tracing app, and expects to spend a further £25 million on the second stage in 2020-21. However, it was unable to tell MPs what impact the app would have on the success of the contact tracing scheme.

The PAC report calls for the Department of Health to set "realistic targets for transforming digital services."

"This should include a mix of longer-term and intermediate targets for tracking progress for both nationally-led programmes and those delivered at local health and care system level."

The Department also needs to focus on improving clarity and transparency.

"Given the taxpayers ' money involved, transparency is important to allow Parliament and the public to hold it to account," the report says.