MPs call on government to scrap £7bn NHS care records system

doi:10.1136/bmj.d4975

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Adrian O’Dowd

¹London

The government should consider dropping its £7bn (€8bn; $11.4bn) care records system for the NHS, still under development, as it is an “unworkable” and costly mistake, claims a report from an influential committee of MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee published a highly critical report on 3 August focusing on the care records system for the NHS in England—part of the £11.4bn national programme for IT in the NHS.

The programme was launched in 2002, and the Department of Health has spent £6.4bn on it so far.

For their inquiry the MPs on the committee focused on delivery of what is meant to be a fully integrated, electronic care records system under the programme and …