§ Tim LoughtonTo ask the Secretary of State for Health for what reasons the Shires Acute and Community Hospital EPR Procurement Programme was terminated. [120372]
§ Mr. HuttonThe Shires Electronic Patient Records (EPR) procurement did not proceed to final award of contract primarily on grounds of affordability. This was a local procurement that decided it did not have sufficient funds to cover the costs and contract for the first three years.
The National Programme for Information Technology (NpfIT) in the national health service is currently procuring an integrated care records service, which will provide, as part of its first phase, the functionality that the Shires EPR would have delivered. The national procurement approach will provide better value for money for taxpayers.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) if he will make a statement on IT procurement policy for the NHS; [123504]
(2) if he will make a statement on IT procurement policy in (a) the south-west region and (b) the Avon, Gloucestershire and Wiltshire Strategic Health Authority area; [123505]
(3) what role Integrated Line Records Services will play within future IT procurement policy. [123506]
§ Mr. Hutton[holding answer 4 July 2003]: The approach to procurement for the National Programme for Information Technology (NPfIT) in the national health service was published in January 2003 and can be found at www.doh.gov.uk/ipu/whatnew/procapp.pdf
NPfIT is currently managing a national procurement for an integrated care records service (ICRS). An Official Journal of the European Community (OJEC) 417W contract notice was issued on 31 January 2003 and we are now evaluating pre-qualified bidders responses before proceeding to shortlist. It is proceeding as rapidly as good practice allows.
Phase 1 of ICRS to December 2004 will provide clinicians, whether they are in primary, community or secondary care settings, with the capability to email, browse internet/intranet sites, view basic clinical information relating to their patients (demographics), electronically transfer limited clinical correspondence, laboratory reports and some radiology results. New ICRS solutions will also provide integrated support for national service framework data collection.
Procurement in the South West will be part of national arrangements designed to minimise risk and maximise value for money in the NHS by the award of contracts to local service providers. For the provision of IT services by local service providers, England will be grouped into five geographic clusters based upon the pairing of geographically adjoining Government Office regions and will each incorporate a number of strategic health authorities (SHAs).
There will be a total of five contracts awarded and a maximum of five local service providers covering: London; North East, Yorkshire and Humberside; South East and South West; East of England and East Midlands; West Midlands and North West. The first two contracts will be awarded by the end of October 2003 to London and North East, Yorkshire and Humberside.
Each SHA will have a relationship with a dedicated local service provider to provide a range of applications, systems and services and will be responsible for integrating or replacing the computer systems needed to support the clinical applications being delivered by the NPfIT. Each local service provider will also have responsibility for the management of legacy systems as part of their overall remit.