The survey, in which 4,500 nurses took part, found that only 12% felt they had been adequately consulted about the new IT plans. 61% said they did not have enough information about the developments, which included 26% who had none at all.
Regarding the IT reform itself, 56% of nurses said it would improve patient care and 49% said it would improve their working life. These figures are down on the 2004 survey results, in which 70% and 59% of nurses answered positively to the question.
Lack of training was another major concern. 95% of nurses thought training was pivotal to the success of the electronic health record, but 69% have not received any training in the last six months.
Royal College of Nursing general secretary Beverly Malone said, Nurses will be by far the largest group of health professionals using NHS IT systems, yet they are hardly being consulted or informed about developments. We know from experience that if frontline staff are not involved in change, it fails.
