The National Programme for IT has unveiled a new website, www.npfit.nhs.uk, featuring a host of detailed information about the programme and its implementation – but the “Your Say" section, where a public discussion forum had been planned, was removed shortly after it appeared. An NPfIT spokesman said the “Your Say” feature would become a key part of the website but there were resource issues around monitoring incoming messages. It will take a while – “weeks rather than days" – before the functionality goes live. The placeholder page for the “Your Say” forum originally read, “A discussion forum, for the sharing of experiences and opinions, will be made available shortly.” It was available on the front of the website and the sidebar menu on 29 June, but the page was delinked and replaced with a “Contact Us" e-mail form on the following day. The rest of the website went live yesterday and is aimed at both health professionals and patients. It is the first time that the NPfIT has had a dedicated website. The site also includes a jargon buster and glossary of acronyms, an explanation of the purpose of the programme and all its aspects, and comprehensive and clear explanations of PACS, N3 and the NHS Care Records Service. One section of particular interest is entitled “People Stories", where patients are interviewed about the trouble caused by lost paperwork or incorrect or missing records; problems that would be solved by the implementation of IT. The site will also feature information and feedback about the roadshows being run by the director of communications at the national programme, Aidan Halligan. Promising to be “opportunity for us to explain, an opportunity for us to listen and understand", these roadshows are expected to visit one healthcare organisation per week to hear the opinion of staff. Information about the Front Line Support Academy, a Who’s Who of NPfIT executives and regional clusters are available. The site also links to the newly-minted Choose And Book website.
