Deputy editor Sofia Lind argues time has come for the Government to take the missing letters scandal seriously
Pulse’s in-depth investigation into the scandal of patient communication not reaching GPs has unveiled an issue much more far-ranging than what has been known of to date.
Focusing on a 10-year period, we asked England’s hospital trusts whether they had issues with unsent correspondence, including serious incidents.
In all, 18 trusts admitted to having suffered issues, with a vast majority blaming IT system failures.
We also uncovered 20 serious incidents.
As a large number of trusts did not respond to the FOI request, or declined to give a response due to the time it would take to gather the information, or provided unusable data, the issue is likely to run far deeper.
And – as per usual in the NHS – it is GPs who are having to mop up the mess.
In light of the stark picture painted by our investigation, we argue that the time has come for a national investigation.
Shockingly, NHS England told Pulse it doesn’t even monitor this situation, as it is a locally-managed issue.
Meanwhile, the Department of Health and Social Care skirted the issue by pointing to Professor Lord Ara Darzi’s rapid review into the state of the NHS.
Forgive me if I do not believe he will delve deep into this issue.
As Londonwide LMC’s seasoned chief executive Dr Michelle Drage says in our report, ‘there really does need to be some accountability for the effect this has on patients and their GPs’.
In underfunded trusts, severe IT issues with far-reaching consequences continue to persist, as was the case in Southampton this week, where an ongoing fault with a new pathology system left GPs with ‘significant’ workload issues and ‘anxiety’ for patient safety.
Labour’s manifesto spoke of ‘modernising the NHS’, stating that ‘a system reliant on pagers and fax machines is not fit for this decade let alone the next’.
But the document’s investment focus is on cancer scanners and AI – not basic hospital IT.
Whilst I agree it is essential for the NHS to keep up with the latest developments that improve patient care and survival, when it comes to NHS IT, I fear politicians are again trying to make it run before it can walk.
Sofia Lind is deputy editor of Pulse. Follow her on Twitter at @sofialind_Pulse or email her at sofialind@cogora.com
