Re: £150m deal was signed with Microsoft to update systems to Windows 10
Bob; You really know f*ck all about this dont you? I wouldnt have been suprised if you were involved in the failed National Programme for IT (NPfIT) when a bunch of sales d*cks convinced the government they could create single clinical systems for the entire NHS... that worked out well didnt it and its cost a hell of a lot more than £150m and produced very very little.
£150m would have done nothing. If we just look at all the software out there running medical equipment, re-writing all the software would have meant the equipment itself would have to go thru all the safety checking (i.e.FDA). How much will that cost? How long will that take?
Also how many companies do you think have software actively used in the NHS right now? I've worked in 3 different hospital Trusts... each one had at least 100 different applications actively used. A few were the same, but a shocking number were not. Thats just general hospitals, i haven't worked in primary care (GP land) and never touched mental health. Then there are the ambulance trusts. God and the companies involved, ranging from massive multinations to Jon in his shed (quite literally) who can't seem to understand why we don't really want to be using Access XP based solutions anymore.
Do you also think that all these companies are just going to stop developing there systems and do a complete, from the ground, re-write? Some of these systems have evolved over decades. How long do you think thats going to take? They'll be rubbing their hands at the cost of this... you think its bad with Microsoft now? Times that by thousand greedy Sales execs adding a 500% margin because hell you ain't got no choice have you. You've bought the product, not like anyone else can re-write it.
Then there is the training... there's over a million NHS employees. How much is re-training going to cost? Each one of those will use some sort of IT to a greater or lesser degree. Some of these people go off sick because of stress when you change the desktop wallpaper... let alone change the application and the OS.
You tit.