Computer Weekly this week reports that Assist, an association of 1,800 IT professionals in the NHS, has called for the NHS to adopt “simple systems” which can be configured locally – not more sophisticated systems which it says bring rigidity.

Assist quite rightly praises “stunning” IT-related successes over the past 10 years and the standards of IT in use in GP practices and goes on to say that the UK leads the world in the development of health information and IT standards. However, the association also believes that a “one-size-fits-all” approach does not work. We’re hearing this view from an increasing number of NHS professionals, and there certainly is a strong case to be made for more tailored IT solutions delivered by independent suppliers on a local level, working closely with individual PCTs to address the specific issues they face.

Assist’s members observe that difficulties in meeting government targets such as Choose and Book and the 18-week initiative are failures of planning and policy rather than IT, and that the 18-week initiative and others have led to “substantial, avoidable demands on limited informatics resources and capacity”.

This is often the case for in-house RTT monitoring solutions, which can all-too-often swallow up so much resource in building reports and collating information that staff cannot actually get on with the job of managing pathways and improving performance.

Conversely, Pathway Manager with its enhanced functionality to meet everyday issues and operational requirements, manages patient pathways from initial GP contact to acute or other hospital treatment, to ensure compliance with the 18-week wait rules.

Crucially, succeeds in freeing up staff time, letting them get on with the important task of helping to manage care delivery and improve overall healthcare outcomes.

The BBC has reported on the legislation put forward by the Scottish Government for its proposed 12-week wait initiative. The new NHS 12-Week Wait plans will radically improve access to care and transform the NHS in Scotland.

Ambitious targets for Referral to Treatment (RTT) waiting times take the form of a 12-week maximum wait from decision to admit to treatment. This decision is to be applauded, and will play a key role in boosting access to care and improving healthcare outcomes.

Inside sources expect hospitals to put in place systems to monitor performance against target in the course of 2009, and to be meeting targets well before the official deadline of 2011.

We fully support the legislation, and the ambitious targets, and with 19 Trusts already using or implementing its Pathway Manager solution to monitor RTT times in both England and Wales, we are well placed to make available to the Scottish NHS the information tools it needs to help it achieve its targets.

Pathway Manager’s rich functionality gives staff a prospective view of waiting times rather than a retrospective view. If a patient begins to drift towards the 12-week time limit, the ‘Pathway Analyser’ module will automatically advise staff there could be a potential problem, allowing staff to resolve the issue within the required time frame and ensure that patients get timely access to care.

Liberal Democrat shadow health secretary Norman Lamb has called for an immediate end to further spending on the NHS National Programme for IT, reports ZDnet.

The party believes the gains possible from the use of IT would more likely be realised if the programme were decentralised and control given to local organisations who could instead work on improving connectivity between health and social care.

With record investment in health over recent years, in the 60th year of the NHS we are seeing an unprecedented level of access to healthcare, and NPfIT has certainly achieved much, and has without doubt helped to drive up standards in healthcare delivery.

However, while noone would dispute the positive impact and benefits IT and better access to clinical data have had for healthcare professionals working at the coalface of the NHS, there certainly seems to be a growing case for looking at how best NHS IT systems are delivered, be that on a national or more local level.

There are strong arguments for a truly national system, but with Newcastle set to depart from the national programme, and questions being raised about the cost effectiveness and responsiveness of a large national body and its ability to adapt to change, perhaps we should be looking at a more manageable, regional approach, engaging with independent local suppliers to ensure a more tailored, responsive approach.

It will be interesting to see which way the barometer swings.

The Health Service Journal has reported that Primary Care Trusts are battling to stay clear of deficit as their finances come under pressure from a surge in secondary care work.

Referrals increased in April and May by an average of 12.7% compared with the year before.  At the same time many are trying to hit the 18-week referral to treatment target, which means clearing a backlog of patients with long waits.

Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust used Pathway Manager from Ardentia to meet 18-Week regulations eight months ahead of time, dramatically reducing patient waiting times and meeting national targets of 90% for non-admitted patients and 85% for admitted patients.

With Pathway Manager, staff in the Referral to Treatment Team have a prospective view of waiting times rather than a retrospective view. If a patient begins to drift towards the 18-week time limit, the ‘Pathway Analyser’ module will automatically advise staff there could be a potential problem, allowing staff to resolve the issue within the required time frame and ensure that patients get timely access to care.

A key benefit of Pathway Manager is that it simplifies and streamlines the management of RTT requirements for Trusts – staff can save all the information they need on a patient’s pathway of care in one data system so they can easily report on waiting times and risks of breaches to 18-week regulations without having to go into multiple systems.

Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust is planning to break away from the NHS’s flagship £12.7bn National Programme for IT, reports Computer Weekly, as directors feel the scheme does not represent value for money.

Even though the Foundation Trust could receive “free” services under the national scheme, directors claim they cannot afford to wait until 2013/14 for implementation of the required systems, which under NPfIT would “require more ongoing system maintenance, service desk and life-cycle costs, which erodes into the recurrent savings achieved”.

Further breakaways from NPfIT will inevitably raise more questions about the programme and the billions of pounds worth of contracts with local service providers.

The news highlights the need for a fundamental review of the current healthcare IT infrastructure.  Large supra-regional bodies by their very nature cannot adapt quickly and respond effectively to change.

By opting instead to engage with a smaller number of independent suppliers, you not only get a faster response and resolution to any requests, you also get the advantage of highly specialised industry knowledge, to ensure your information infrastructure works harder for you.