Doctors back calls for review of NHS digitisation

An overwhelming majority of GPs and hospital doctors have backed the calls of senior academics for an independent assessment of the technical viability of the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT).

In a new poll carried out by Medix UK for BBC Radio 4’s File On Four programme, some 85% of doctors said that they agreed or strongly agreed with the call for an independent technical assessment. Only 4% ‘disagreed’ or ‘strongly disagreed’ with the call for a review.

Asked about their view of the statement "The probable cost of the NPfIT IT (£6.2 billion plus the cost of local implementation) is likely to be a good use of NHS resources", 62% of the clinicians either disagreed or strongly disagreed, while 19% agreed or strongly agreed. A programme featuring the poll findings is due to go out this evening (30 May). 

Questioned what they believed should be the future of NPfIT, 21% said ‘continue current activity but keep a tight control on budgets’, 15% said ‘continue it but with reduced funding and a local rather than national focus’, and 21% said ‘abandon it completely and return to local initiatives’.

The nuclear option of abandoning the programme was noticeably more popular among GPs, favoured by 34%, than their hospital colleagues, favoured by 11%.

This divergence of views might be partly explained by the GPs generally negative views of Choose and Book.

Of the 340 GPs surveyed, 80% said that their practice was now equipped to use the Choose and Book service. Asked to rate the service 49% said that it was either poor or fairly poor, with just 21% rating the online booking service as either good or fairly good.

Asked how often they were using Choose and Book 32% of GPs said always or mostly, with exactly half said rarely or never.

The poll, which carried out over the internet, between 17-19 May, covered almost 787 doctors practising in England.

BBC Radio 4’s File On Four programme on the NHS National Programme for IT will be broadcast on Tuesday, 30 May 2006 at 8.00pm.