NURSING leaders and opposition politicians have expressed anger after it was revealed the new flagship NHS 24 IT system could be delayed by at least two years and go £23 million over budget.

In a new report, Scotland's public-spending watchdog has exposed the problems surrounding the improvements to the helpline's phone and internet services for patients.

Already a year late, the system will not be ready until October next year at the earliest. It will cost at least £52.6m.

Caroline Gardner, Auditor General for Scotland, also revealed yesterday that NHS 24 is in a dispute with the French-based IT supplier Capgemini.

The delays are over the cost of technology for the NHS Future Programme which has soared from an expected £29.6m to £38m.

Health Secretary Alex Neil faced calls to explain to MSPs how the plans had fallen so far off course.

Scottish Liberal Democrat health spokesman Jim Hume said: "The Health Secretary needs to come to parliament and explain how the government let this crucial project get so far off track.

"The SNP's record on the health service is one of under investment, missed treatment targets, bed shortages and now delays and massive overspends on NHS 24. They have let down patients, NHS staff and taxpayers."

Theresa Fyffe, director of Royal College of Nursing Scotland, said staff would be left to shoulder the burden of delivering NHS 24's services safely and effectively.

The upgrade is intended to manage better the 1.5 million calls to the NHS and save money.

Ms Fyffe said: "This in turn would have helped the board find and keep the staff it needs to run the service. So the additional minimum one year's delay for a new system going live is another blow for its hard-pressed workforce."

Ms Gardner said: "The board has estimated that the earliest potential date for developing and testing an alternative technical solution, and implementing a new system, is now October 2015."

The system has cost £38m but the total bill will be "at least £52.6m, £23m over the original business case", her report says.

NHS 24 has received additional cash, known as brokerage, of £20.76m from the government to help fund the programme, which it plans to start paying back next year.

Chief executive John Turner said: "Our staff are working hard to ensure we can continue to deliver high-quality services to callers.

"NHS 24 is developing a programme to update our technology systems for the future.

"We are disappointed the system has not been implemented yet but we will only deploy it when it is safe to do so. We continue to develop the system with our suppliers meantime."

Ms Gardner has also outlined "poor financial management" in NHS Highland, which needed £2.5m from the government, and "weaknesses" in NHS Orkney, which required an extra £1m mainly to cover the cost of hiring locum doctors to cover vacant medical posts.

A government spokesman said protecting frontline health services was a priority and that was why it had increased the NHS budget.

The spokesman said: "We must always strive to be as efficient as possible with taxpayers' money, and we welcome that health boards have met their financial targets for the last six years and exceeded their efficiency targets."