The study by UK government watchdog the National Audit Office, published two months ago, was critical of delays in the implementation of certain sections of the Connecting for Health project and said that concerns remained amongst NHS staff as to when systems will be delivered, and what they will do.
Prior to publication, the report was circulated to a number of agencies, including the UK government, for consultation. Following this process, a number of critical phrases are alleged to have been altered or even deleted.
For example, a line accusing the government of being slow in securing the engagement and commitment of the NHS to the program was toned down to the more general observation, The NHS has more work to do on engagement. Similarly, a phrase regarding insufficient trainers to train NHS staff was absent from the final draft of the report, as was a sentence claiming that the NHS currently lacks the sufficient skills to deliver the CfH program.
The NAO report surprised those who were expecting a stinging attack on CfH by offering much praise for a project which it described as wider and more extensive than any ongoing or planned healthcare IT program in the world. The watchdog has said that its main conclusions were the same in both drafts, and added that it is normal for reports to be distributed among interested parties before going to press to ensure they are both fair and accurate.
