HSJ welcomes NHS England’s ambition but urges it to go much further to address the problematic culture in the NHS in which technology is viewed largely as a sideshow to the main event

Dear secretary of state,

Ambition for a paperless NHS by 2018

HSJ welcomes your laudable ambition for a paperless NHS by 2018.

Alastair McLellan

Patient safety, the cost of providing care and the experience of both patient and staff alike could all be transformed if this bold ambition is achieved.

HSJ has carried out a piece of research to highlight the barriers stymying progress on this critical ambition and to give key stakeholders a chance to contribute to the debate about how best to upgrade the NHS’s technology capabilities.

Our exclusive survey represents the most comprehensive poll carried out on this issue since your announcement, receiving feedback from hundreds of NHS leaders and health IT professionals.

We published the headline findings in January, one year on from your original announcement. This week we have provided a fuller analysis of the rich intelligence we have gathered.

The sector is squarely behind your ambition. Some 88 per cent said it was a “great ambition”, according to our results.

However, only 29 per cent of those surveyed said the ambition was realistic.

‘The biggest concern is unquestionably one of culture’

The biggest concern is unquestionably one of culture. Ninety-one per cent of respondents said the leadership community’s lack of IT knowledge was a key roadblock to achieving the target.

HSJ welcomes NHS England’s decision to sponsor 12 senior informatics professionals to join the NHS Leadership Academy’s Nye Bevan executive development programme and the additional funding supplied through the NHS technology fund.

But we urge both the Department of Health and NHS England to go much further to address the increasingly problematic culture in the NHS in which technology is viewed largely as a sideshow to the main event.

Yours sincerely,
Alastair McLellan
HSJ editor

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