DH shifts IT from ‘replace’ to ‘connect’
NHS informatics in England will move from a “replace all” to “connect all” philosophy, the Department of Health has announced. Informatics planning guidance for 2010-11 says an updated strategic direction for informatics will be developed over the coming months to reflect the change in emphasis. The guidance says a new direction has also been agreed for […]
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NHS ‘faces pivotal year’ – Nicholson
NHS chief executive David Nicholson has said that the coming year will be pivotal for the NHS as it faces its last year of significant growth. The Operating Framework for the NHS in England 2010-11, launched by the Department of Health yesterday, said that after a decade of investment the NHS is about to face […]
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What’s going on, Darling?
NPfIT was going to be scrapped. Then it wasn’t. Sarah Bruce reports on Pre-Budget Report chaos.
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Darling targets efficiency, pay and tax
The Chancellor has slightly shifted the focus of this year’s Pre-Budget Report from the urgent need to make public sector efficiency savings to implementing pay freezes and increasing taxes.
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Turmoil grips NHS IT programme
The future of the National Programme for IT in the NHS has been plunged into doubt after the Chancellor of the Exchequer singled it out as a suitable candidate for cuts. Speaking ahead of the Pre-Budget Report, Alistair Darling made it clear that he believed there were savings to be made, and bluntly stated that he […]
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Four in ten readers expect cuts
Four out of ten NHS IT staff are expecting their budgets to decrease next year, and a further 36% expect them to be frozen at this year’s level.
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Insider View: Jon Hoeksma
E-Health Insider editor Jon Hoeksma reflects on a busy couple of weeks for news about NPfIT.
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Mind the gap
Brian Derry from the NHS Information Centre reflects on the coming financial crunch and how informatics can help the NHS through it.
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Trust loses cancer patient data
Ashford and St Peter’s Hospitals NHS Trust has been criticised by the Information Commissioner for losing three unencrypted USB sticks containing sensitive information about cancer patients.
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Arctic blast
A think-tank recently ranked its funding forecasts for the NHS from ‘tepid’ to ‘arctic.’ Sarah Bruce asks what that will mean for healthcare IT.
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