Calling all Health Practitioners - Connecting for Health

[Blackduck]

Okay, I have an interview as Project Support (IT) for a local NHS trust - I have to give a presentation of which the title is 'From what you have seen of Connecting for Health projects what factors do you believe could inhibit progress and/or success?" As I don't (and never have) worked in the NHS I haven't got the foggest! So heres your chance - what are your views?
Many thanks for the help!

Inihibiting factors - lack of trust from the public, bad press re recent losses of data.

Lack of funding.

Not much else really. you could cheat a bit and look at the connecting for health website and check the FAQ section.

Sorry - that's the best I can do!

From the other side (IT supplier to both trusts and CfH) - badly written contracts with commercial partners leave a service which lags real requirements and make change VERY slow.

The trust won't want to hear this but the one thing which IMHO would speed things up most would be if trusts were obliged to take CfH services - ATM they have the choice so the service has to be 'sold' to each trust and designed to take account of the fact that CfH has no control over the client interface (NHS mail being a prime example)

SS thanks - so are you saying the trust can customise the front end? So you would say implementation issues are key? Does this lead to lack of an championing of the projects on the part of the user base?

The trust owns the user device (PC, thin client, PDA, whatever) so the service cannot depend on certain software or levels of software being deployed - neither can they require agents to be pushed out to client devices - so everything is limited to lowest common denominator browser-based access. Hence it is impossible to deliver the service the users really want/need so they resist deployment - it's a vicious circle and one that I am not sure there is a way out of because it is so fundamental to the structure of the NHS.

This has to be the wierdest conversation I have ever had on MN

this site has some interesting articles about CfH which could be worthwhile reading?

But thats the power of mumsnet! Knew someone would know something/have a view - and yes it is weird.......
Sounds fundementally rubbish.....

It does (sound fundamentally rubbish) - it is - but it means lots of work for IT people, both in CfH and in the trusts.

When is the interview? Good Luck!

Interview is on Thursday morning - beginning to wonder if it is a good idea . Project support is probably thankless in this situation....

It depends what stage they are at - if they have already made the decision to roll things out it could be OK - as long as the trust's bits get done OK, then any lack of functionality could be passed off as 'not our problem, blame CfH'

Isn't it always blame CfH? website useful - many thanks - and insightful as to the whole thing.....All those big companies getting BIG money and not delivering ...

SS thanks again - that website was a good heads up as they asked me about resources and said that was up there as one of the top ones Anyway thanks for everything and we'll see how it goes...!!

fingers crossed - when will you hear?

didn't get it - just heard....suspect it went to someone already working in NHS...

Bugger. Better luck next time..