Services giant CSC,which had a spectacular dispute with the government over its work on the NHS National Programme for IT(NPfIT),is on course to implement its first patient records system after a national agreement was reached earlier this month.
Tameside Hospital in east Manchester will be the first in England to implement CSC's patient records system,consolidating all the various pieces of clinical information held about a patient on to CSC's Lorenzo Electronic Patient Record system.
Lorenzo was a the centre of criticisms over CSC's work on the NPfIT,which was delivered well behind schedule and over budget–like most of the NPfIT.
However,a settlement between the Department of Health and CSC paved the way for NHS health trusts to choose whether to implement Lorenzo or to seek out cheaper or more functional alternatives.
The central element of the Tameside project involves the deployment of Lorenzo as a replacement for the Trust's current patient administration system,subject to the approval of a full business case.
"This is really good news for the staff and patients of Tameside Hospital,"said Tony Mellor,the Trust's chief information officer."Lorenzo will be the centrepiece of the Trust's new information strategy,'Digital by Design',which seeks to connect patient information systems across our local health community and help reduce reliance on the paper record."
He added:"We have been working closely with CSC for several months now,developing a detailed plan which will enable the hospital to unlock investment to support the modernisation of IT systems.This will undoubtedly allow us to increase efficiency and help deliver improvements in patient care."
Tameside Hospital chief executive said that the Trust will be looking to share its experience with other organisations in the NHS.
