NHS England defends appointment of Professor Keith McNeil as CCIO

'The electronic record system at Addenbrooke's is now one of the best in the NHS,' claims NHS England in defence of its appointment of McNeil

NHS England has defended its appointment of failed Addenbrooke's Hospital CEO Professor Keith McNeil as its new chief clinical information officer (CCIO), claiming that McNeil beat a number of other good candidates in a fiercely competitive recruitment process.

McNeil resigned from his post as CEO of the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs Addenbrooke's Hospital, in September 2015 - just before a damning report by the Care Quality Commission was set to be published.

The trust was subsequently put into "special measures" by health regulator Monitor after overspending by an average of £1.2m a week, in part due to a new £200m online patient-record system by US supplier Epic, which had been fraught with problems.

Computing suggested yesterday that the appointment of McNeil could be seen as the NHS rewarding failure, in what seemed like a sketchy recruitment process.

But in response, an NHS England spokesman staunchly defended the appointment. He told Computing: "Dr McNeil is an internationally respected specialist and the electronic record system at Addenbrooke's is now one of the best in the NHS.

"This post was filled following advertisement and open competition and Dr McNeil beat a number of other candidates."

NHS England emphasised that, at the time of McNeil's resignation, patient outcomes at the trust were among the best in the UK and Europe, and that the bad rating it received by the Care Quality Commission was largely due to difficulties in recruiting nursing staff and the considerable demand for emergency services experienced by the hospital.

It added that many of the doctors at the trust had lobbied for McNeil's return after his resignation, which suggested that not all were unhappy with how the trust was run under his leadership.

Dr Bob Wachter, who has launched a review of computer systems across the NHS, said McNeil had shown that he understood why transformation is necessary, and how to make it happen.

"He 'gets' the necessity of clinical engagement, and the real-world complexities of technology adoption. The journey may not always be smooth, but the electronic record system at Addenbrooke's is now one of the best in the NHS; a real example of how technology can improve outcomes for patients," he said.

"I was particularly taken by Addenbrooke's emphasis on the importance of the human-technology interface - getting this right is absolutely critical to achieving technology's full potential," he added.