---

Dept of Health

Answer

Mr. Todd: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make a statement on progress to date on the Information for Health initiative. [158572] Ms Stuart: Information for Health focuses on the best use of information and Information Technology in improving health and health care and in supporting the delivery of patient centred care and services. It is also a partnership approach involving key stakeholders such as front line clinicians, professional and representative bodies and IT suppliers. By being inclusive, considerable approval and support has been gained for the strategy across the National Health Service. The strategy was launched in September 1998 and it has had to flex to take into account major new initiatives flowing from the NHS plan and the e-Government agenda. These requirements are now fully reflected. There are clear and defined national targets to ensure the implementation of a national information and IT infrastructure. Record levels of funding have been committed for investment in IT over a three-year period. Local plans produced in all health communities are monitored and analysed to ensure that investments will meet the target deliverables. Each local community consists of a host health authority, its constituent NHS trusts, general practitioners, other primary care contractors, local authority social services and voluntary sector organisations. All local plans produced last year were published on the Department's internet site. The document "Building the Information Core: Implementing the NHS Plan" (www.doh.gov.uk/ nhsexipu/strategy/update/) contains details of key targets to be achieved over the next four years, in order to meet the commitments contained in the NHS plan in relation to information systems. Other related targets around national service priorities will emerge in due course. Collectively they give the immediate Information Management and Technology priorities which Local Implementation Strategy (LIS) communities need to address to provide the NHS-wide core applications and services. These fundamental targets are listed in the table at the end of this note. The targets stretch to 2005 but progress on intermediate milestones has been strong. All GPs will be connected to NHSnet by March 2001 which will speed up and improve communications for test results, appointment booking and other patient centred information flows. NHS Direct services now cover the whole population of England. In addition to local implementation major development programmes are in place across the NHS. The National Booked Admission Programme pilots have now been running for 12 months and the Electronic Record Development and Implementation Programme (ERDIP) will provide essential lessons for national implementation of electronic patient and health records. Progress so far has been strong and we will maintain the effort to ensure that we fully realise the opportunities now unfolding to support a patient focused and modern NHS. Key Information Management and Technology targets _________________________________________________________________________________________________. National percentages by date Targets 31 March 2001 31 March 2002 31 March 2003 31 March 2004 31 March 2005 IMT01--Desk top access to 25 100 -- -- -- basic e-mail, browsing and directory services for all clinical and support staff in NHS trusts IMT02--Provide remaining -- -- 100 -- -- NHS staff with access to the above IMT03--Submit Address Books 100 -- -- -- -- and produce interim centrally managed NHS Address Book IMT04--Access to X500 -- 100 -- -- -- conformant NHS Address Book directory for all connected staff IMT05--GP Practices to be 98 100 -- -- -- computerised IMT06--GP Practices with 95 100 -- -- -- NHSnet Connection IMT07--GP Practices with 90 100 -- -- -- local area networks connected to NHSnet eg desktop access IMT08--Online public 100 -- -- -- -- information on availability of NHS services IMT09--Acute electronic 10 35 -- 75 100 patient record (EPR) level 3 IMT10--Integrated primary -- -- 25 50 100 and community EPR IMT11--Emergency care -- -- -- -- 100 electronic health record IMT12--All bookings from -- -- -- -- 100 GPs to out-patients or from out-patients to day-case or in-patients to be made electronically IMT13--Electronic transfer -- 60 -- -- -- of all haematology and microbiology test results IMT14--Electronic transfer -- -- 100 -- -- of all radiology reports and discharge summaries between hospital and GPs IMT15--All NHS pathology 100 -- -- -- -- laboratories to be connected to NHSnet IMT16--All pathology -- 100 -- -- -- results sent to GPs to contain NHS number IMT17--All electronic -- -- 100 -- -- communications about patients to include their NHS number verified by NHS numbers strategic tracing service IMT18--Online access to 100 -- -- -- -- national codes for GPs and consultants IMT19--National NHS payroll -- -- -- 100 -- and integrated human resources system IMT20--All out-patient data -- 100 -- -- -- set to be transmitted through NHSwide clearing service IMT21--LIS update 100 -- -- -- -- IMT22--Integration of -- 100 -- -- -- information strategies to support National Service Framework topics into LIS development within six months of the publication of the relevant strategy IMT23--Application of -- 100 -- -- -- working in partnership toolkit IMT24--Production of local 100 -- -- -- -- education, training and development strategies _________________________________________________________________________________________________. Note: The final analysis of the quantitative targets and qualitative scoring of all LIS against 10 critical progress markers will be completed by mid June 2001.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

158572; 368 c359-62W;368 c359-61W

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Health services ICT Information NHS

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk