HC Deb 25 July 1989 vol 157 c669W
73. Dr. Twinn

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what progress is being made in training National Health Service staff in information skills.

80. Mr. Gerald Howarth

To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans there are for training National Health Service staff in information skills.

Mr. Mellor

On 28 June the NHS management executive and the NHS training authority launched a strategy for training Health Service staff in information management and technology. As part of this launch, we announced a programme of 20 centrally funded projects worth £4½ million to develop training courses and material in support of health authorities' implementation of the strategy.

The importance of training cannot be overemphasised. The NHS is becoming increasingly dependent upon accurate and timely information for the effective and efficient management of health services, both in the acute sector and in the community. This will inevitably mean larger numbers of more powerful computer-based information systems. The people who design and run the systems, those who put the data in and those who interpret and use the information they provide must all be trained if they are to do their jobs properly. The strategy will provide a very useful framework within which Health Authorities can make the arrangements that best suit their local needs.