NI GPs fear raid on computer money

GPs in Northern Ireland say money earmarked for primary care IT has been subject to huge delays and fear the funds could now be used for non-IT projects.

The Northern Ireland LMCs’ conference this week unanimously passed a motion calling for an inquiry into why £5million pledged for primary care IT was not released until a few weeks before the end of the financial year.

Dr Theo Nugent, a GP in Ballygawley, Northern Ireland and chairman of Southern LMC, said £5million was earmarked for 2004/5 with a further £5million in this financial year.

He told EHI Primary Care: "A lot of practices are waiting for quite significant and pretty vital upgrades and there are also a lot of practices waiting for training. The delay was apparently because it took almost the whole year to write the business plan which is a bit implausible since its hardly difficult to make the case for the need for IT."

Dr Nugent said one of GPs’ greatest concerns about the funding was that although £5million was earmarked for IT funding only £3million was included in the Gross Investment Guarantee under the new GMS contract so there were serious concerns that the other £2million could be lost to IT if and when the funding was carried forward.

He added: "What has added to our concern is that at a meeting about the funding a department official would only say the funding would ‘hopefully’ be carried forward next year and earmarked for IT."

GPs in Northern Ireland have not benefited as quickly from IT benefits as colleagues in the rest of the UK. One of the most urgent IT projects underway in Northern Ireland at the moment is online pathology and radiology messaging, an essential requirement for GPs working to meet Quality and Outcomes Framework targets. That, together with email and internet access for GPs, is due to be completed by the end of this year.

Last month Northern Ireland health minister Angela Smith announced a ten year IT strategy for Northern Ireland. So far £95m has been earmarked for ICT in health and social services in the Northern Ireland Investment Strategy for 2005-2015 with £35 million in capital over the first three years and another £60million after that.

A spokesman for the Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety in Northern Ireland said: "The business case recently approved by the Department of Finance was in respect of capital expenditure to meet the costs of ICT systems to support GP practices under the new GMS contract for the period 2004/05 to 2007/08. We would now anticipate that the resources will be available to support this major investment over that period."