Southend latest Totalcare site to tender

Southend University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has gone out for tender to procure a new patient administration system.

The tender says Southend wants to replace its legacy McKesson Totalcare system, which was first implemented at the trust in 1990.

The contract is to include the provision of a new system, associated training, technical implementation, data migration, interface development, cutover, documentation, project management and application support services.

The trust initially wants to replace the McKesson PAS, but would also like a provider that can help it to develop the system into a comprehensive, integrated electronic patient record that includes order communications, theatres, maternity, clinical noting and electronic prescribing.

Southend’s decision to go out for tender is one of a flurry of similar choices being made by trusts as the National Programme for IT in the NHS comes to a close.

Most of the activity has come from the North, Midlands and East region, where at least eight trusts have gone out to tender for new systems since May.

Southend is also one of a number of trusts looking to replace Totalcare, for which the Department of Health signed a new support contract in 2010 that will expire in 2014.

Around 20 NHS trusts still use Totalcare or STAR patient administration systems procured before the national programme started. McKesson recently bought System C and its Medway administration and clinical systems.

The Southend tender says that bidding suppliers are expected to have a fully functioning system operating in an acute trust environment.

The contract will be for an initial period of seven years with opportunities to extend, depending on performance and delivering continued value for money, for a further seven years.