ABSTRACT
In order to deliver the clinical governance agenda, good quality, timely, accurate information is needed to establish baselines and to enable ongoing monitoring against standards and benchmarks. NHS management, both clinical and non-clinical, demands that information produced is robust and available in an instant. Whilst this in itself is not unreasonable, the fact that there is limited acknowledgement from these two groups that they have an essential and non-negotiable role to play in this process gives an insight into why the process is failing. To address the clinical information shortfall, the more technologically minded of the clinical staff started to procure or build their own systems. This usually occurred in a piecemeal fashion, tailored to the needs of the specific areas and without reference or linkage to the main hospital administration systems and associated staff groups. Such systems were not used for statutory reporting and were used mainly within the confines of the particular department.
