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By Mel Duvall
The British Department of Health has named a new leadership team that will attempt to get its mammoth health initiative back on track.
The Connecting for Health initiative, which has been called the world's biggest non-military IT project, has been plagued by cost overruns and missteps since it was launched in 2002. The 10-year goal was to build a new computer system that would connect some 100,000 doctors, 380,000 nurses and other health care professionals. It would also provide for the electronic storage of medical records, and allow physicians to transmit prescriptions electronically to pharmacies.
In September of 2006, the primary technology consultant on the project, Accenture, pulled out of its contract, handing most of its work over to Computer Sciences Corp. (CSC). Then in the summer of 2007, Richard Granger, the NHS' IT Director General, announced he would step down at the end of 2007, after five years in the role.
In April of this year, the NHS said it would split the IT director general role into two.
Now, NHS has followed through. It announced that Christine Connelly will become CIO for Health, focusing on developing and delivering the overall information strategy for the Department of Health.
Martin Bellamy will lead the NHS' Connecting for Health initiative, focusing on program and system delivery.
Connelly most recently was working as an independent consultant. She was previously the CIO at Cadbury Schweppes, and spent 20 years with BP.
Bellamy has been with the Department of Work and Pensions since 2003, where his main role has been as CIO of the Pension Service.
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