Digitised patient records in Wales 'face delays'

Plans to digitise patients' NHS records in Wales face significant delays causing widespread frustration, auditors have said.

A report by the Wales Audit Office said a plan to fund electronic patient records in the Welsh NHS is yet to be agreed.

Auditor General Huw Vaughan-Thomas warned the NHS risks ending up with systems that are out-of-date.

The Welsh Government said it recognised the value of IT in a modern NHS.

Plans for an electronic patient records system stretch back to 2003.

The Wales Audit Office report said that many of the key elements - such as GP systems - have been put in place or are being rolled out, but there remains a way to go until it is fully in place.

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Auditors said that the Welsh Government needs to decide whether and how to provide significant extra funding.

The NHS has estimated that an extra £483.7m is needed to fund the service but the Welsh Government and NHS bodies have not yet committed to providing the funding, the report said.

Of the 30 projects that the NHS Wales Informatics Service is implementing, only seven are proceeding to plan, 13 face "minimal delays" and nine "very significant delays".

NHS bodies are "deeply frustrated" over the slow speed of national systems, the report said.

Mr Vaughan-Thomas said: "We know that better access to information leads to better outcomes for patients and fewer mistakes by clinicians."

"Unless it addresses the issues identified in my report, the NHS risks further frustration amongst frontline staff and ending up with systems that are already outdated by the time they are completed," he added.

'Building blocks'

Public Accounts Committee chairman Nick Ramsay said: "It is good that the NHS is putting in place many of the building blocks of an electronic patient record.

"However, it is clear that the NHS needs to do better in the way it prioritises and supports the development of new systems, including through effective leadership and improved governance arrangements."

A Welsh Government spokesman said: "We will respond in full to the report in due course.

"However, we recognise the value of IT in a modern, efficient NHS and as the report recognises we have a clear vision of how we want to make best use of IT and deliver real benefits and improved outcomes for patients.

"Despite severe pressure on our budget we continue to invest in IT infrastructure for the NHS in Wales."

The Welsh Government said patients' GP records are already available for doctors and health professionals to view wherever the patient receives care.

Health professionals across Wales can also see information created or generated electronically in other health board areas using the Welsh Clinical Portal, it added.