CSC and BT signing new NHS NPfIT contracts
Government works to keep remaining suppliers on programme
By Leo King | Published 06:08, 16 April 09
The NHS has confirmed it is signing new deals with CSC and BT, the only two remaining suppliers on the £12.7 billion National Programme for IT.
Negotiations have been ongoing for many months between the NHS and the two lead contractors, as programme demands are modified and the suppliers seek what they see as appropriate recompense.
Discussions had been “successfully concluded” between the parties, according to a spokesperson at Connecting for Health, which is managing the programme. CSC is the supplier for the northern, central and eastern clusters of England, and BT supplies London.
In May last year, Fujitsu left the programme after contract negotiations failed. It is understood that disagreement over payment for fulfilling demands of local NHS trusts was a large part of the problem. BT last week signed a deal to supply IT to the eight southern trusts that had already implemented systems with Fujitsu.
Accenture, the last of the original four suppliers, left the programme in 2006 after it said it had lost large amounts of money on the work.
CSC has already signed a new undisclosed contract reset with the NHS. But the agreement the NHS is drafting with BT is said to be no more than a Memorandum of Understanding, the E-health insider website reported.
