The NHS'sNational Programme for IT (NPfIT)has
taken a different direction with NHS trusts being given a choice of
a range of systems from various suppliers - which they were able to
do before the advent of the NPfIT in 2002.
An announcement was made today of the names of suppliers who
have signed framework deals, the so-called Additional Supply
Capability and Capacity (ASCC).
The suppliers will supply systems to national standards and may
end up competing with the three local service providers, CSC,
Fujitsu and BT, who were given £6.2bn worth of contracts to supply
NHS trusts in 2003 and 2004.
After the NPfIT was announced in 2002, NHS trusts were stopped
from exercising choice over their IT systems. Procurements by
coalitions of trusts that formed to buy systems regionally were
also stopped. Instead, the Department of Health signed contracts
with a small group of suppliers with the aim of ruthlessly
standardising on two main software suppliers, iSoft and IDX
(replaced by Cerner) for the NHS in England. But some trusts are
going their own way and it has been found that iSoft and Cerner do
not offer all that is needed.
Now the ASCC gives NHS trusts a choice again - but if they
choose a supplier from the framework list they may have to pay for
the systems from their own budgets without any special central
funding. If they buy from a local service provider their purchase
will be subsidised by central funds.
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