Hyndburn MP backs campaign for more NHS watchdogs (From Lancashire Telegraph)

Count me in, it's about time a simple idea of a website was up and running. I have to say that like many people, I am loathe to complain about the NHS. But things I have witnessed in the service need to be brought to light. Doctors should not be concerned as to the cost of treatment. A doctor should not be employed as an administrator.
If you could find out what happened to the £12 billion wasted on the computer system, then call to account the companies responsible, maybe even make them pay the money back. This kind of wastage is all to common in government financed industries. no one ever seem to be held responsible.
There needs to be a detailed examination of procurement procedures and big money could be saved.

Good to see he is focusing his efforts on something worthwhile,other than his beloved Blackburn Rovers!! Thought he was MP for Hyndburn(Accrington)

mavrick wrote:
Count me in, it's about time a simple idea of a website was up and running. I have to say that like many people, I am loathe to complain about the NHS. But things I have witnessed in the service need to be brought to light. Doctors should not be concerned as to the cost of treatment. A doctor should not be employed as an administrator.
If you could find out what happened to the £12 billion wasted on the computer system, then call to account the companies responsible, maybe even make them pay the money back. This kind of wastage is all to common in government financed industries. no one ever seem to be held responsible.
There needs to be a detailed examination of procurement procedures and big money could be saved.

Most of the £12 billion wasted on the NHS computer systems got no where near any companies.

It was wasted on huge infrastructure within the NHS itself; programmers, analysts, project managers and a whole host of jobs you have never heard of, all paid by the NHS.

It was the whole system itself - a huge government project - which spent the money. It was never about procurement, it was all about it being a stupid idea in the first place.

For those responsible, see Labour. The huge NHS IT project was Tony Blair's personal baby. He set the wheels in motion, and a huge, new, publicly funded behemoth came into force - with new wages and pensions and benefits to pay for.

It's Labour in a nutshell. Huge public spending where pretty much all of it is wasted, and someone else has to struggle to pick up the pieces after it inevitably fails.

Across Europe, the public sector needs huge reform if we are to ever return to normality from a financial perspective. With Labour though it's fingers in ears and business as usual. The country will go completely to the dogs if they ever get back in with their crazy spending mantra.

When are they going to start living in the real world? Ever?

The last government was not a labour government. Tony Blair should be held to account for the shambles and a lot more. but I have to dispute some of your statements as to it being anything but a procurement problem. who purchased the expertise for this scheme? who allowed the internal market scheme into the NHS? like I said there were many I.T consultants used at great expense both internally and externally. why are these people not held to account? I know it is done and dusted but I still think heads should roll and the profiteers be made to pay back their fees.

mavrick wrote:
The last government was not a labour government. Tony Blair should be held to account for the shambles and a lot more. but I have to dispute some of your statements as to it being anything but a procurement problem. who purchased the expertise for this scheme? who allowed the internal market scheme into the NHS? like I said there were many I.T consultants used at great expense both internally and externally. why are these people not held to account? I know it is done and dusted but I still think heads should roll and the profiteers be made to pay back their fees.

Because the consultants did the job they were asked.

That job happened to be a muddled, fudged idea for massive computer system though.

You are right someone should be held to account, and it's the Labour politicians who went so gung ho for spending the public's money. They wanted everything with brass whistles for the massive English system that Tony Blair had in his mind.

Massive systems were then designed by these contractors, and then more contractors to oversee every aspect of implementing it, and oversee every aspect of maintaining it.

Massive linked in governmental computer systems are famous for never working though, and so huge areas of this fiasco have just been ditched.

Who's to blame; those goons who came up with this in the first place, and then authorised billions of pounds of tax payers money to pay for it.

Do you know that pharmacy companies, the only truly private part of this whole huge IT system, didn't get paid for anything. Those companies which supply the public sector, doctors and hospitals etc, those got paid, because they know the public sector gravy train.

Pharmacies are all private businesses though, and so are the companies which supply their IT. Those companies were never paid, they were either in this thing or out of the market.

Oddly enough, the little pharmacy part of this is being retained because it actually works, but that's because it's private companies making it work.

Huge public sector computer systems never seem to work though, because like you say no one is ever held accountable.

Labour should forever be held accountable, but already it seems they aren't. I'd bet good money Labour would even repeat a huge fiasco like this because they don't care, it's just money to spend for them, and they don't give a solitary jot if it is completely wasted.

It's the tragedy of our shoddy political system. Labour are rotten but so are the Conservatives, just each in their own way.

The Lib Dems aren't, but they won't get full power to do what they want, because we have blind voting in this country with so many safe seats. Plus the Lib Dems feel the full force of the corrupt tabloids, spinning their mate's crap, be that Labour or Conservative.