Government 'to scrap' NPfIT

The Government is expected to announce the final nail in the coffin for the National Programme for IT in the NHS (NPfIT) today. Leaked reports suggest Health Secretary Andrew Lansley will say it is to be ‘urgently dismantled’ in the light of the Major Projects Authority review. The move, which follows damning reports on the deployment of electronic patient record systems under the programme by the Public Accounts Committee (see PAC report piles pressure on CSC & BT) and the National Audit Office is not altogether unexpected. The news could be a blow for key suppliers such as CSC and BT - but we’ll need to wait for the detail in the announcement to assess the true impact it will have on the market. More later….