A major London hospital faces a £400,000 fine because of problems with the NHS IT programme, an MP has said.

St Bartholomew's Hospital has confirmed that it failed to meet its 18-week waiting list target between March and September because of "weaknesses in our information management and administration systems".

Conservative MP Richard Bacon told MPs on Thursday that the hospital had been "forced to its knees because of Cerner Millennium", one of the platforms used in the National Programme for IT improvements being introduced by the NHS.

He said St Bart's had a backlog of 23,000 patients who had not received hospital treatment within 18 weeks of a GP referral.

"One can talk about targets being missed but what really matters about this is that patients are being kept waiting for longer than they should be," he told the Commons.

"In some cases patients have been kept waiting for longer than six months because the hospital is unable to manage its information because it's got such a dreadful system it is struggling with."

The hospital faces a £400,000-a-month fine from its primary care trust, NHS Tower Hamlets, as a consequence of missing its target.

Bacon said: "It's no reflection on some of the clinical work that is done at Barts hospital, some of which is absolutely outstanding, world class, no doubt about that.

"But by having this system foisted upon them that doesn't work properly, it's actually hampering their ability to continue being a world-class hospital."

The Commons public accounts select committee, of which Bacon is a member, criticised the NHS IT programme in a report earlier this year.

A spokeswoman for St Barts said the hospital was in negotiations with NHS Tower Hamlets over the fine.

"It has been a frustration for everyone at Barts and the London NHS Trust that our desire to meet the 18-week national target has been compromised by previous weaknesses in our information-management and administration systems.

"We know that all of the patients in the backlog have been seen by a consultant in Outpatients within the 13-week target, and there is no evidence that any patient has come to clinical harm as a result of the backlog.

"Barts and the London NHS Trust began reporting 18-week data again in September and the number of patients not treated within the 18 weeks target has reduced, and continues to do so, month-on-month.

"This is as a result of extensive work by the trust to ensure patients are both seen and treated in the target time, as well as ensuring that data relating to all patients is accurate and avoids duplication.

"We are in negotiations with NHS Tower Hamlets about charges for the period in breach of the 18-week target."

She also corrected Bacon's claim that the hospital had a deficit of £6.7m. "This is not the case and this year, the trust will return a surplus," she said.