It was recognised that a single supplier was unlikely to have sufficient capacity to deliver all the new systems and services for the NHS.

It was also important that the NHS should get best value for money and that it should not be dependent on a single company's performance.

It was decided to divide work into two main components:

• develop IT systems to be used by all users across England
• develop systems to be used locally and ensure these link with the national systems.

Local Service Providers (LSPs) were selected through a competitive procurement under Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU) rules.

The LSPs act as integrators, ensuring existing local systems meet national standards and that they facilitate data flow between the local and national systems.

To do this they upgrade or replace hardware and software as appropriate. They will also train trainers and provide resources for local NHS organisations to help them ensure their staff have the skills to use the new systems. LSPs are responsible for appointing their own subcontractors.

National Application Service Providers (NASPs)

BT

BT is the NASP for the national data Spine that carries summary information about health care and forms the core of the NHS Care Records Service. The 10 year contract worth £620m was signed on 8 December 2003.

BT is also responsible for N3, the national broadband network linking NHS sites. This seven year contract worth approximately £530m was signed on 19 February 2004.

Atos Origin

Atos Origin is the NASP for Choose and Book which enables first outpatient appointments to be booked at GP surgeries, online or through a call centre. The five year worth contract £65.4m was signed on 8 October 2003.

Cable and Wireless

Cable and Wireless is the NASP for NHSmail, the national email and directory service for NHS staff. The contract was signed on 1 July 2004 and lasts for nine years. The contract value is between £50m and £90m depending on usage.

Local Service Providers (LSPs)

An announcement was made on Thursday 28 September 2006 regarding changes to delivery of the NHS National Programme for IT.

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC)

Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC) is the LSP for the North Midlands and East Programme for IT, delivering software developed by its main subcontractor iSoft.

The contract for the North West and West Midlands worth £973m was signed on 23 December 2003 and lasts for 10 years.

The contract for the North East and Eastern worth £1,965m was signed on 28 September 2006 and lasts for 9 years.

Fujitsu

Fujitsu was the LSP for the Southern Programme for IT with Cerner as main subcontractor. A ten-year contract with Fujitsu was signed on 26 January 2004.

Following extensive contract reset negotiations, it was not possible to reach an acceptable agreement on the core Fujitsu contract.

Regrettably, and despite best efforts by all parties, the NHS ended the contract early by issuing a termination notice on 28 May 2008.

A Short Form Agreement has been signed with Fujitsu for a period of six months to 28 November 2008. This covers the continuation of the NHS Care Records Service and PACS/RIS services to live sites.

We acknowledge the work that Fujitsu has done providing key information services to trusts in the south of England and recognise their commitment to providing a smooth transition to new arrangements.

The options for future alternative arrangements are currently being assessed by the Department of Health, SPfIT, the SHAs and NHS Connecting for Health.

BT Capital Care Alliance

BT Capital Care Alliance is the LSP for the London Programme for IT, with Cerner as main subcontractor. This contract with BT is worth £996m over 10 years and was signed on 8 December 2003.

Enterprise Wide Arrangements

One of the innovations of the new procurement regime for IT in the NHS is Enterprise Wide Arrangements (EWAs).

EWAs enable individual NHS organisations to take advantage of the purchasing power of the health service as a whole. It means they can obtain hardware, software and services at low cost.

In negotiating these arrangements, NHS Connecting for Health insists on subcontractors giving the NHS the status of enduring Global Most Favoured Customer. That means the rates the NHS pays must be the lowest available anywhere in the world.

Companies with whom EWAs have been agreed include:

• Cisco Systems
• Documentum
• EMC
• Health Language Inc
• Hewlett-Packard
• Microsoft
• Novell
• Oracle
• SeeBeyond
• Sun Microsystems
• TATA Consultancy Services

LSP media relations contacts:

BT:

Jon Moggridge
0207 809 7098
07918 058 870
jon.moggridge@bt.com

CSC:

Joanne Davis
01252 536 737
07799 476 532
jdavis62@csc.com

Fujitsu:

Chrissie Kennedy
01753 604 742
07867 830 073
chrissie.kennedy@uk.fujitsu.com

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