New Welsh GPs' patient record system scrapped

Doctors' surgeries in Wales are being told plans to deliver new computer software handling prescriptions and medical records have been scrapped.

A contract to deliver the IT system by Cornish firm Microtest has been terminated.

NHS officials in Wales said the company could not meet the required timescale to deliver the project.

Microtest said it would now be focusing on other "existing and new" business opportunities.

The technology outfit had been awarded a contract in 2018 to deliver and implement the new records systems, beginning last January.

But NHS Wales Informatics Service has now told GPs the new system will not be rolled out and that, through "mutual agreement", the contract has been terminated.

An NHS official said the decision was disappointing but was "the best course of action for Welsh GPs, practice staff and the patients that they care for".

According to the NHS, Microtest received £40,000 in start-up costs for the project, but no other payments.

In September, the Welsh Government said it would spend £50m to speed-up changes to NHS computer systems in Wales, following warnings that they are outdated.

A Welsh Government spokesman said GPs will continue to use their current clinical computer systems while the next step is considered.

Dr Phil White, who chairs the General Practitioners Committee representing family doctors in Wales, said he welcomed the decision.

"We remain committed to engaging with the consultation process to ensure that the views of the profession are represented and that clinical IT systems are not only fit for purpose but will improve and support the working practices of GPs in Wales," said Dr White.