Clause 26
Health Bill [Lords]
5:45 pm
Stephen O'Brien (Shadow Minister, Health; Eddisbury, Conservative)
I am grateful to the Minister for seeking to address my point. I hope he realises that I raised it in a genuine attempt to be constructive. In resisting the amendment, he prayed in aid the 15-month time period between when the choice is effectively made and implementation. He also prayed in aid the fact that due to the nature of technology, the programming, the system and the compatibility could change during that period.
This is one area where we must be extraordinarily cautious. To the extent that I have found myself dragged, somewhat reluctantly, towards the NHS IT programme, I understand that one will never catch up with the leading edge of technology. One must set a point at which one is trying to achieve a certain standard and say, “That’s the standard to be met,” and not always worry about things such as the 15-month period. The Minister is absolutely right: the technology may well move forward. The issue is compatibility with a standard that will work to deliver the service.
I will not press the amendment, because I think that the issue requires continuous careful and vigilant monitoring, as the Minister accepted. We need to watch it carefully, as there are fantastic benefits to be gained—he sought to highlight some—but it could easily trip on the basis that implementation is flawed or time-lagged and there is a lack of capacity for, let alone understanding of, the standards to be applied to achieve compatibility. Although the amendment is the sort that one might want to press to a vote in a somewhat virile way, to demonstrate that one means it, on this occasion I will withdraw it. However, we need to highlight the issue and ensure that the Minister, the Department and the Minister’s advisers keep it as a high priority in order to make it work. I beg to ask leave to withdraw the amendment.