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Date: Thursday, May 29, 2008

NHS Ends Fujitsu Contract in Computerised Medical Records Scheme

The billion pound scheme intended to computerise the medical records of every patient in the NHS has suffered another major setback today after it was announced that the NHS has fired Fujitsu – one of the project’s most important suppliers.

The scheme, which is costing an estimated £12.7 billion, is already four years late and has already faced much criticism over the delays, as well as concern over the safety of patient’s private details.

The IT scheme, which is called Connecting For Health, involves four main projects. These include a centralised electronic medical record system for the NHS’s 50 million patients, an online ‘choose and book’ system that will allow people to book hospital appointments digitally, an electronic prescriptions service and fast network links between NHS organisations. Indeed, the scheme is expected to link more than 30,000 GP Practices in England to nearly 300 hospitals.

Fujitsu’s 10-year contract gave them responsibility for installing the computer system throughout NHS hospitals in the south of England and was worth a massive £896 million. The NHS decided to terminate the contract with Japanese-owned Fujitsu after 10 months of renegotiations broke down. It is thought that the termination of this contract could cost Fujitsu around £300 million.

The tensions between Connecting for Health and its IT suppliers were caused by tougher contracts that were imposed to prevent costs from spiralling out of control. Indeed, a Fujitsu official told the Financial Times that talks had broken down because the Connecting for Health programme demanded too much from them. Fujitsu wanted to negotiate for either more money or a return to the original contract.

A spokesperson for Connecting for Health said: "Regrettably, and despite [the] best efforts by all parties, it has not been possible to reach an agreement on the core Fujitsu contract that is acceptable to all parties. The NHS will therefore end the contract early by issuing a termination notice. Work has started immediately on planning the necessary arrangements."

Source:

Guardian