The measure is set out in The NHS: a liberal blueprint, a party policy paper which outlines principles to modernise the NHS. It was launched on 4 February 2010 by shadow health secretary Norman Lamb.
Connecting for Health would be abolished as part of a "move away from a centrally imposed IT system". The paper also calls for the abolition of strategic health authorities (SHAs) and some other central organisations.
The document says that the Choose and Book booking system should be replaced by a simple online appointments booking service. It argues that the early signs are that Choose and Book has been less effective at offering patient choice than the government has claimed.
It restricts patient choice by removing a hospital from the list of choices if it has a long waiting list, the Liberal Democrats claim. "It seems bizarre not to offer patients the option of waiting a bit longer to see their preferred specialist or the one their GPs have recommended," the paper says.
The paper also says that the Care Records Service (CRS) should be abandoned. It points out that the CRS is likely to be completed some four years late, has encountered enormous technical challenges and has raised serious concerns about the confidentiality of patient records. Moreover, a clinical and business case has still not been satisfactorily made for establishing a national database.
The Liberal Democrats recognise that contractual obligations with existing suppliers would have to be respected, but say that contract variations could be negotiated.
Following a similar policy to the Conservatives, the party would also put patients in charge of their own health records where possible. The document cites a pilot e-health record system at the New York Presbyterian Hospital, which gives full control of data to individuals.
It also highlights the potential for telemedicine to support people with chronic conditions and enable them to remain in their own homes. It says that the US Veterans Health Administration is using software which links 1,400 medical centres, community clinics and nursing homes. The system shows diagnoses, medications, scan and lab reports and has been able to reduce hospital admissions as a result.
Lamb said: "These proposals set out a liberal approach to the NHS which can drastically reduce costs, improve the quality of care and give people a say in how their local services are run. The NHS is far too important to the people of this country to ignore this challenge anymore - we must act now to secure its future."
Victor Almeida, senior health analyst at Kable, said: "These proposals have many similarities with the Conservatives, but the major difference is that they would close down Connecting for Health and the CRS.
"These measures could be beneficial to the NHS, which is currently tied up with complex software systems in long and delayed trials and roll outs.
"But it could take time before government can extricate itself from contractual obligations – reset negotiations can take months or even longer – and start afresh."
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