Hospital loses £8 million on Labour’s IT system
The Labour-enforced NHS IT program has resulted in the loss of £7.7 million for the Royal Free Hospital in London.
Following a first quarter surplus, the implementation of the patient administration software program is blamed for subsequent losses.
The programme is meant to speed up patient booking and to improve management of records, but problems with the software itself and with its management have cost millions of pounds and have resulted reduced efficiency.
“High quality information technology could be benefiting patients and their families – but because of the structure of this centrally imposed programme hospitals already hard pressed by government deficits are suffering further, and patient care is suffering unnecessarily,” said shadow health minister, Stephen O’Brien.
As a result of the software’s implementation, “many clinic and admission slots were not used and data was entered on the system incorrectly or not at all”, reported the board of the Royal Free Hospital.
Commenting on the centralised structure of the program and the government’s imposition of it, Mr O’Brien stated: “It is a disgrace that ministerial incompetence is leading, once more, to hospitals losing money. This cash should be used for caring for patients – instead it is pouring into the black hole of the government’s supercomputer.”
The system has been criticised since its inception, thought the Department of Health has insisted it is a crucial element of NHS reform.
