BMJ  2005;331 (6 August), doi:10.1136/bmj.331.7512.0-f

Editor's choice

The NHS's sewers?

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

London's system of sewers, designed by Joseph Bazalgette, is one of the wonders of 19th century civil engineering, admired for its simplicity of conception, its scale, and the beauty of its brick lined, egg shaped sewers.

Richard Granger, engineer of the English NHS's ambitious programme for healthcare computing, likens information technology in 2005 to the state of civil engineering in the mid-19th century. The technology was immature—yet Bazalgette succeeded. Granger, like most IT experts, thinks that information technology is immature, yet it is clear from his interview with Geoff Watts on p 310 that he believes it can deliver the NHS's systems for booking appointments, transmitting prescriptions, and storing patients' records. He also, more controversially, thinks that many more doctors have come to believe so too.

Granger doesn't deny that his job of leading the NHS's 10 year programme is stressful, but it doesn't feel so comfortable on the ground . . . [Full text of this article]

Jane Smith, deputy editor

(jsmith@bmj.com)


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