Guardian reports:

Opposition MPs have condemned a serious computer system failure that affected 80 NHS hospital trusts.

Some health staff in the North West and West Midlands were left unable to check appointments and access patient administration details on-screen.

NHS Connecting for Health, which runs the Government’s controversial IT programme, said there had been “serious interruption” to computer systems since Sunday morning. A spokesman stressed that the problem – caused by equipment failure – had not put patients at risk and no data had been lost.

He said: “The issues are administrative, such as dealing with admissions, patient tracking, the transfer of in-patient waiting lists and out-patient appointments. It is not about clinical information.”

But Liberal Democrat health spokesman Steve Webb said: “It is very alarming that trusts are reporting practical problems with a multi-billion-pound IT system.

“The NHS cannot rely on a computer system that is only right most of the time. If medical information is not available or supplied in error, then the effect on patients can be fatal. Serious questions must be asked about whether the proper safeguards were put in place before this system went online.”

[…]

Now apply this to when the NIR system is interrupted – 80 NHS trusts becomes alll health trusts (because the Government will eventually require NIR checks for NHS care in order to leverage underwhelming NIR registration), add in policing, DVLA, TV licensing, income support, financial services, buying alcohol or medicines and you see that when the NIR system goes down the entire portion of the country that has surrendered its freedoms to the State will grind to a halt.

And the NIR system will go down. Sooner rather than later – and more than once.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 3rd, 2006 at 2:19 pm and is filed under NIR.