US system ‘unsuitable for NHS’

The “troubled” overhaul of IT systems for the NHS may continue without a replacement for Fujitsu, which exited its contract after failing to renegotiate its terms.

According to the Guardian, primary care trusts in the south of England are saying they want to appoint their own suppliers, despite British Telecom’s (BT’s) interest in picking up where Fujitsu left off.

BT is already the lead contractor for the London region and is using the same software package, Cerner Millennium.

However the Guardian suggested NHS staff “remain deeply sceptical about the suitability of Millennium, a US product, for Britain’s hospitals”.

It added that a decision by NHS Connecting for Health, which oversees the national programme for IT, whether to go with BT or to let trusts to choose their own suppliers, was pending.

Fujitsu announced on Thursday the termination of its 896 million pound contract with the NHS.

The Financial Times suggested the dispute centred on the NHS’s demand for more flexibility in providing electronic care records for patients and that BT, which runs the project for the NHS in London, was favourite to take over from Fujitsu.