NHS trusts may miss referral to treatment requirement as Fujitsu's exits

The termination of Fujitsu's £895m contract to supply an electronic patient record system to the NHS means health trusts in the south and south-west UK may miss the December deadline to comply with the national 18-week wait referral to treatment (RTT) requirement, says healthcare business intelligence specialist Ardentia.

David Beeson, Ardentia's marketing director, said, "The disruption to trusts as a result of the termination of the Fujitsu LSP contract could hardly have come at a worse time, with the December deadline for meeting 18-week wait RTT times now looming large.

"At best, the difficulties surrounding the contract are going to lead to further delays in providing the necessary system upgrades."