MPs say Accenture’s departure evidence of NPfIT failure

Opposition MPs were quick to voice doubts about Accenture’s departure from most of its work under the National Programme for IT, seeing the move as evidence of failure.

Liberal Democrat health spokesman, Steve Webb, said: “This is yet more evidence of a project in deep trouble that will doubtless mean more instability distracting health professionals from concentrating on patient care.

“This firm’s departure will generate yet more fears that the NHS IT project’s costs and problems will escalate further. Inevitably, when you change supplier there will be handover costs and the danger that people with valuable knowledge will leave.”

Conservative MP and member of the Commons Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Richard Bacon, said: “This just replaces one regional contractor with another which has less experience. However, the main problem is not with the regional contractors but with the product they are being asked to implement, iSoft’s Lorenzo system, which still does not work properly.

“This was the conclusion which CSC and Accenture themselves reached in their joint review of the Lorenzo system in February 2006, which states that there is ‘no well defined scope and therefore no believable plan for releases’.”

He said today’s news did not reflect badly on Accenture which had said openly it was losing money. “It’s hard to see how any of the other LSPs can be in a better position,” he commented.

He told E-Health Insider he stood by his view, shared with Liberal Democrat and PAC member, John Pugh, that the current national programme strategy should be replaced with a more flexible locally-based approach based on standards.

Asked what his next move would be he replied: “I’m still waiting for answers to 49 questions I put into the Department of Health and 29 questions to the Natiuonal audit Office. My next move is to chase the answers to these.”

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