Furore over £31 billion figure for NPfIT

“There is no evidence whatsoever that that this will be the cost of implementing the National Programme for IT," he told a Radio 4 interviewer.

Pressed to say how much he thought the implementation would really cost, Hutton said the £1 billion a year currently spent by the NHS on maintaining a “hotchpotch” of 5000 separate systems should cover the costs of implementation.

Reports in all the national newspapers today suggest that the total price tag for the National Programme for IT could rise to between £18.6 billion and £31 billion over 10 years – three to five times the procurement cost of £6.2 billion.

The figures comes from an estimate drawn up by Department of Health officials and leaked to Computer Weekly. Though it has been apparent for some time that trusts would be expected to pick up considerable costs for implementation and other items not covered by NPfIT, this is the first time figures have been attached to the work.

Savings and efficiencies are expected to flow from the national programme, but the upfront investment is worrying many trusts that already have financial difficulties and a host of other targets for improvement.

The Department of Health said: "It is generally accepted in the IT industry that implementation costs are some 3-5 times the procurements and this is reflected in the business case that was made for the national programme.

“Whilst significant benefits will accrue from the national programme, other benefits will be seen in improvements to NHS services therefore improving patient care and safety."

True costs of NPfIT greater than predicted?