MP sizzles under CSC

A leading critic of the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT) says two of its leading suppliers have suffered a "body blow" following Pennine Care Trust's decision not to implement mandated software.

Earlier this week it was confirmed that Pennine Care Trust was withdrawing from the early adopter programme for iSoft's Lorenzo electronic patient-record with an internal CSC email stating that the Trust withdrew through "lack of confidence in being able to deploy Lorenzo into live service in the near future."

It was because of the missed deadline at Pennine Care that the Department of Health (DoH) warned the local service provider CSC that it was in breach of contract and that termination of the US firm's contract was now an option. The DoH set March as a final deadline to go-live with the system.

Despite this tough talking, it's been confirmed that NHS CIO Christine Connelly is actively trying to find another Trust to take on the role of the final early adopter. Connelly confirmed this week that: "Other trusts in the North Midlands and East are considering becoming the early adopter of Lorenzo mental health functionality and this is currently being explored further."

But Tory MP Richard Bacon - a long term critic of the National Programme - said: "Pennine Care Trust's withdrawal from the NPfIT should be a body blow to CSC and iSoft. They have clearly failed, yet again".

Bacon said he is "amazed" that NHS CIO Christine Connelly is trying to find another Trust to take on the early adopter status, adding that NPfIT was "supposed to help the NHS develop successful IT systems, not help to find new victims for these failed companies and their failed systems".

The MP earlier this month wrote to Prime Minister David Cameron calling for the Cabinet Office to step in and tackle problems with the National Programme. In his letter, Bacon said: "The NPfIT contracts with service providers are fundamentally broken. There really is no good public policy justification for continuing them, since the Local Service Providers (LSPs) have manifestly failed to deliver what was expected of them."

He specifically cited CSC's role in his criticism, saying that he remains"very concerned" about the supplier and Connecting for Health's strategy. "Connecting for Health seems to remain committed to the delivery of systems through Local Service Providers such as CSC that have been shown to be unreliable, subject to serious delays and, even after contract renegotiations, unreasonably expensive," said Bacon.

Bacon added: "The government has rightly signalled the need to return to a free market for NHS IT solutions, where hospitals can choose the best systems from the best suppliers, and poor suppliers like CSC will have to up their game if they want to win business...Allowing CSC to deploy whatever systems they choose, to 80 sites or more, would be a major distortion of the marketplace, without any compensating gains. Many Trusts would feel obliged to opt for CSC systems because they would be 'free' to them; other suppliers would be unable to compete."

He concluded: "This situation would get even worse if, as reported, iSoft is bought out by CSC. Monopoly providers are often a problem; incompetent monopoly providers are always a problem."

Bacon called for the Efficiency & Reform Group in the Cabinet Office to be allowed to ensure the National Programme LSP contracts are set within the wider sphere of government computing rather than just in relation to the NHS. "It should give the LSPs pause for thought if any legal action they might take could put them in dispute with the entire UK public sector and not simply the NHS," he said. "Any IT supplier with significant government contracts or ambitions to enter into them in future would have to take that into serious account."

He urged the Prime Minister to take action: "Any settlement with existing Local Service Providers must be separated decisively from any consideration of future NHS business. In other words, CSC (and in my opinion also BT [the other remaining LSP]) must be made to compete in an open market as best they can. I believe the time is right for you to use your good offices to ensure a sensible outcome to the contract renegotiation with CSC."