Failed NHS IT project - 1 topic on LBC's James O'Brien

[bobhope]

Have they actually spent the £20bn already or is that the projected cost? For £20bn, you could give everyone in the UK their own laptop or PC.

[xoggoth]

From the Times

A whistle blower revealed to us today that there had not, to his knowledge, ever been any failures or overspends in government IT projects, rather, all the deals had been entirely fraudulent and there had never been any attempt to supply anything at all. All the millions or even billions spent have been channeled into the secret accounts of contractors and government ministers.

It appears that equipment seen on site was mostly purchased from recycling companies or charities collecting secondhand computers for African children, with the better ones being cleaned up to look convincing. "If they were too batterered we covered them with black car body underseal and told anyone who asked that they had been ruggedised with an electromagnetic radiation resistant coating" our source told us. Asked about staff seen working, he said that they got in a few Poles and Indians who then spent the day playing computer games, often Packman and Space Invaders as most of the few computers that worked could not run anything requiring a greater spec. "Most of the money goes straight into our bank accounts and after a couple of years the government just writes it off as a failure" he told us.

It was only last week that this reporter learned that the public's impression of roadworks had been completely accurate for decades. "We never really did anything at all apart from what the public saw" said our source "we just coned off big sections of motorway for months on end and then got a few homeless blokes in for 4 quid an hour in to wander up and down in hard hats or stand around a small hole scratching their heads. At the end of the time we just sprayed a bit of tar over the surface to make it look new. The big contractors and the top people at the Highways Agency managed to rake off several billion last year."

[hyperD]

Bugger, missed it this morning and I normally listen to LBC most mornings (Ferrari for Mayor!). I'll get the podcast.

[BobTheCrate]

James O'Brien on LBC 97.3 is in stitches over the £20billion failed NHS project.

He's been saying this is quite amazing even by Gov't IT project standards. But the cherry on the cake is the project's head, Richard Granger - chief executive of 'Connecting for health'. (Salary £280,000)

Apparently Granger's Mum told a local newspaper that he failed his IT at Bristol University. And that he was only allowed to resit after his Mum wrote to Princess Anne.

I mean how bad can it get. Even his own Mum is disgusted with him.

Priceless.

Anyone got anything more juicy to add then why not e-mail James O'Brien at LBC whilst he's still on air.

Link : http://www.lbc973.co.uk/article.asp?id=225690