BMJ  2006;333:147 (15 July), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7559.147-b

Letter

NHS has not learnt IT lessons from 1999

The first 100% of the full text of this article appears below.

EDITOR—The first report of the UK government's public accounts in 1999 summed up the problems of large government information technology (IT) projects¹:

Unrealistic

Unmanageable

Unconsidered

Unauditable

Uncostable

Unstoppable.

Lessons failed to be learnt from this report. The problems just repeat themselves time and time again. No wonder people walk away from these projects.²

Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, Edinburgh EH16 4SU cwoliver@rcsed.ac.uk

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Competing interests: None declared.

1. House of Commons. Public Accounts—first report. Session 1999-2000. www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm199900/cmselect/cmpubacc/65/6502.htm (accessed 6 Jul 2006).
2. Cross M. Doctors explain why they resigned from the NHS's IT programme. BMJ 2006;333: 7. (1 July.)[Free Full Text]

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