§ Mr. BurstowTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will set out the steps his Department has taken and plans to take to identify and remove incompatibility between NHS and social service information systems. [74427]
§ Mr. LammyThe national strategic implementation programme for delivering 21 Century information technology support for the National Health Service, published by the Department in June 2002, sets out the actions required to meet the targets of the NHS Plan. A key element in this programme is the development of the integrated care records service (ICRS), which seeks to address the problems caused by the incompatibility of health and social service systems.
Over the last two years, the Department has also commissioned a number of projects that have sought to identify and provide practical solutions to the problems of integrating health and social care systems. Two of the projects within the electronic records development and implementation programme (ERDIP), supported by the NHS information authority, have developed joint records for use by all members of community mental 799W health teams, including both health and social services staff. Also, within the Information for Social Care demonstrator programme, a number of the projects have addressed issues relating to the sharing and exchange of information between health and social care agencies.
These issues are also being progressed through the information strategies which support the national service frameworks, particularly those relating to mental health, older people and children's services.