The National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS has published a brief progress update, stating that ‘the heartlands of the Programme’ have now been entered, and reaffirming that key contract awards will occur this year followed by implementation.
The three-page document reiterates the main features of the National Programme, outlines progress on the current procurements underway and sets out the next steps of a procurement timetable characterised as ‘necessarily challenging’. “Our approach to procurement could be described as ‘intrusive supplier management’,” states the document.
It confirms that the NHS in England will be grouped into five geographic clusters for the National Programme. These five clusters will be: London; North East, Yorkshire and Humberside; South East and South West; East of England and East Midlands; and the West Midlands and North West.
The first two Local Service Provider (LSP) contracts will be awarded by the end of October 2003 to London and North East, Yorkshire and Humberside. The three remaining contracts are to “be signed before the end of this calendar year”.
On electronic appointment booking the update confirms that a short-list has been reached of the three candidates to become the National Application Service Provider (NASP) for England. The final contract “will be awarded by October 2003”.
Additional details are given of the approach being taken to deliver a new NHS broadband infrastructure network. “When complete the new NHS network, known as ‘N3’, will provide the communications infrastructure underpinning the NPfIT and contribute towards the Government’s Broadband Britain drive to provide broadband connections across all public services.”
A single contract will be awarded for a National Infrastructure Service Provider (NISP), who will then be responsible for purchasing and integrating local and national services “thus opening competition to large and small network companies to provide elements of the network”.
The update also stresses progress in establishing the Design Authority, putting legal teams in place to oversee commercial and legal issues, and increasing the involvement of Strategic Health Authorities (SHAs). Monthly ‘top team’ meetings are now being held, and four lead chief executives on IT are now in place – Alan Burns, Gareth Cruddace, Pearce Butler and Duncan Selbie.
The document also emphasises that SHA’s Local Delivery Plans will now be the mechanism “for the justification and allocation of future investment from nationally available funds”.
Further areas of progress are said to include improving clinical and patient involvement and confidentiality arrangements. Work on a full programme of communication is promised soon, and described as “a key activity for the next phase”.
How interactive this communication is remains to be seen, particularly when criticism of the programme, constructive or otherwise, clearly continues to rankle. Summarising recent messages from Richard Granger, NHS IT Director General, the document states: “There is an assertion by some commentators that the National Programme is broken before it begins. This is disingenuous, inaccurate and unfounded.”