Subj : The NHS is in an IT stone age, staff struggle with creaking infra
To   : All
From : TechnologyDaily
Date : Thu Oct 17 2024 11:15:05

The NHS is in an IT stone age, staff struggle with creaking infrastructure

Date:
Thu, 17 Oct 2024 10:00:44 +0000

Description:
NHS Doctors say outdated IT systems and need serious updates.

FULL STORY
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Public services across the country have been feeling the pinch for a long 
while, but staff at NHS hospitals are concerned that this has reached a 
critical point. The British Medical Association, the UKs main doctors union, 
estimated that doctors lost 13.5 million hours a year as a consequence of 
inadequate IT systems and equipment. 

IT systems probably arent many peoples first thought when it comes to public 
spending, but they are crucial in keeping the NHS functioning and helping 
staff save lives. Since the 2010s the UK has spent almost 37 billion less on 
health assets than neighboring countries, such as France and Germany. 

I am at a top London hospital and yet at times I feel as though we are 
operating in the Stone Age, a pediatrician told Forbes . Doctors and nurses 
have outlined the need for all basic infrastructure to be raised to a minimum 
standard before new projects are taken on. Not exactly efficient 

According to the NHSs own estimates, just 20% of its organisations are 
"digitally mature", with some reporting an "enormous variation in basic 
infrastructure" within hospitals that slows systems down. 

We have a whole range of paper-based and digital systems, which leads to a 
huge potential for error, said Dr Rosie Benneyworth, Head of the Health 
Services Safety Investigations Body.  We have seen delayed cancer diagnosis 
because of systems not speaking to one another.

As well as making systems difficult to navigate and impeding health workers, 
legacy IT systems can pose serious risks in the form of vulnerabilities. 
Healthcare providers are attractive targets for cybercriminals, who will 
often try and leverage stolen data for money , or shut down life saving 
systems to disrupt operations. 

 Via Financial Times More from TechRadar Pro Take a look at some of the best 
malware removal software NHS IT firm set for major fine following medical 
records hack Check out our pick for best antivirus software



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Link to news story:
https://www.techradar.com/pro/the-nhs-is-in-an-it-stone-age-staff-struggle-wit
h-creaking-infrastructure


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