Accenture
Supplier on the NHS National Programme for IT until its withdrawal in 2006.
PIA Investigations Covering This Organisation
Accenture appears in 1 Project Insider Asia investigation, covering Corporate Disasters.
The Evidence Record
What the investigations document about Accenture's involvement, drawn from the published investigation records.
NHS National Programme for IT
| Investigation focus | NHS National Programme for IT: What Was Delivered, What Was Abandoned and Why the Programme Was Dismantled |
|---|---|
| Cost | £12.7B |
| Key dates | 2026-06-15 |
Governance Lessons
Lessons from the investigations covering Accenture, each attributed to its source investigation.
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Do Not Replace All Systems at Once
The NHS tried to replace every IT system across every hospital simultaneously. This "big bang" approach did not reflect the reality that different hospitals had different needs, different legacy systems, and different levels of digital maturity. Phased rollouts allow learning and adaptation.
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User Adoption Is More Important Than Technical Capability
The system was technically sophisticated but clinically unusable. Doctors and nurses found it slower than paper records. When users actively avoid a system, the best technical specification in the world is worthless.
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Vendor Lock-In Creates Structural Weakness
The NHS signed exclusive contracts with major vendors that locked them into proprietary systems. When those systems failed to deliver, there was no alternative. Competition and modularity are governance safeguards, not procurement luxuries.
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