iSoft signs Southern contract outside NPfIT

Wexham Park Hospital

Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has become the first in the Southern cluster to sign a major contract with iSoft.

The trust has signed a contract directly with iSoft for a replacement patient administration system, instead of waiting for one to be delivered through the National Programme for IT in the NHS.

The deal, which is worth £2.4m over five years, is for iSoft’s iPM, which will replace an outdated system that is in use at just two acute trusts. The contract also includes a technical refresh of an existing iSoft clinical solution, iCM.

Jonathan Pearce, Heatherwood and Wexham’s director of infrastructure, told E-Health Insider: “We started thinking about implementing a new PAS three to four months ago, as we were conscious of the fact that the support for our existing PAS would cease in March 2010. iSoft was the only real option for replacing the PAS to this timescale.”

The trust says that the iSoft team is already onsite planning hardware implementation and finalising baseline project plans, including how the data migration will be shaped.

Training for the 1,100 staff who will be using the new PAS will begin at the end of the year. There will be a two day training course for all potential users. There will also be a top-up session just before the system goes-live in the first quarter of 2010.

Pearce continued: “We are long term partners with iSoft and already have a strong working relationship with them, as we already use their clinical information system.

“However, we need to make clear that we are entirely committed to the national programme and have not come out of it. In strategic terms, we are still looking for a suitable moment to re-engage with the NPfIT.”

Adrian Stevens, managing director of iSoft UK and Ireland, said: “The seamless integration with iCM provides a complete patient and clinical management solution to better manage appointments, improve efficiency and reduce waiting times.”

He added: “It also provides a foundation for a smooth transition to iSoft’s next generation healthcare solutions. This underlines our position as the leading provider of healthcare solutions in the NHS.”

Link: iSoft