NHS gets £500m technology booster

The Department of Health has published its strategy document, Building the Information Core - Implementing the NHS Plan, in which it pledges to have an electronic health record for every NHS patient as well as a revolutionary booking system.

Today's allocation of £533m will be made available over the next three years to get all GPs, hospitals and patient access points connected to the same network allowing them to analyse, manage and share information more effectively.

In a statement, Secretary of State for Health, Alan Milburn, claimed that through a range of channels including digital TV, email, face-to-face and telephone, medical professionals will be able to "make appointments quickly and conveniently through a national booking system".

The Electronic health record proposal is supplementary to the electronic patient record (EPR) scheme currently being implemented, and will replace millions of paper records. Patients will also be given easy access to their records, which will incorporate encryption technology to ensure the security, in accordance with the Data Protection Act.

Ann Harding, associate director at iSoft, the company working with the NHS on a pilot for EPR, said the announcement underpins the whole NHS Plan. "This has made it clear that IT is central to achieving its front line aims and managing resources and staff. It also confirms the general direction which everyone has been working towards - that of the e-government," she said.

The document reports on the progress of the NHS Plan, initiated in 1998, which has already received an additional £346m on top of the money set aside for the e-government initiative.

In its assessment, it states: "Information is often not shared and investigations are often repeated. Delays seem designed into the system." Today's proposals are designed to rectify this problem.