Further delays have beset the implementation of a key feature of the NHS National Programme for IT.
According to a paper released online by the North West Strategic Health Authority, NHS Connecting for Health and local service provider CSC are preparing a new schedule, extending to 2016, for installation of the Lorenzo software within health service trusts. Lorenzo will provide the core clinical information system for hospitals in the north and east of England and the Midlands.
This is at odds with a National Audit Office report released on 16 May, which said the implementation of electronic care records, the core of the national programme, had been delayed to 2014-15, making it four years late.
The paper, dated 29 April and signed by Alan Spours, chief information and knowledge officer of the North West Strategic Health Authority, states that the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay Trust is scheduled to become the first trust in the country to deploy the Lorenzo software, in June.
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The paper adds that the revised contract between Connecting for Health and CSC would include improvements such as interoperability between the Lorenzo software and GPs' systems. The paper mentions that this contract was expected to be signed by 6 May.
However, CSC and Connecting for Health said on Tuesday that they are still in negotiations over the contract. The North West Strategic Health Authority said it was not able to comment on the document, given the continuation of negotiations.
