NHS IT budget must not continue to overrun
Published: 27 January 2009
In response to today’s Committee of Public Accounts Select Committee Report: The National Programme for IT in the NHS: progress since 2006; Royal College of Nursing Chief Executive & General Secretary Dr. Peter Carter said:
“This latest report on NHS IT doesn't fill us with confidence. Nurses have more interaction with patients than any other member of the healthcare team and should therefore be central to the delivery of any new patient record system. Government and Trust senior managers need to work closely with nurses across the NHS to ensure that the largest health technology project in history is delivered as soon as possible. The programme is already seriously over budget with costs spiralling from a projected £6.4 billion to an estimated £12.4 billion. This must not be allowed to continue.
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Notes for Editors
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Royal College of Nursing (RCN) is the voice of nursing across the UK and is the largest professional union of nursing staff in the world. The RCN promotes the interest of nurses and patients on a wide range of issues and helps shape healthcare policy by working closely with the UK Government and other national and international institutions, trade unions, professional bodies and voluntary organisations.