NHS Oldham announces outsourcing deal with Computacenter; more efficient IT will help the PCT continue to improve quality and deliver productivity gains.
Computacenter has announced that NHS Oldham has signed a four-year contract that will see Computacenter provide management and support of its information technology (IT) infrastructure to reduce costs and improve service.
NHS Oldham is responsible for commissioning healthcare services for 227,000 people in Oldham. These services are delivered across a variety of settings by a wide range of clinicians including doctors, consultants, nurses, pharmacists, opticians and other health care professionals. They are also responsible for providing community services through Oldham Community Health Services (part of NHS Oldham).
The contract will improve the IT service and reduce costs, saving time and money that can be spent on enhancing patient care.
Computacenter will also run an IT transformation project to enable better use of IT in delivering healthcare and the development of a continuous improvement programme.
Paul Lyons, Associate Director of Finance – Head of Information Management and Technology at NHS Oldham, said: “Providing the best patient care and enabling people in Oldham to live longer and more fulfilling lives is something we continuously strive for. More efficient use of technology will enable us to save money and time, which is key to improving patient care.
“Working with Computacenter gives us greater certainty and control over both services and costs. This in turn will help us use our financial resources more effectively and ensure quality and innovation.”
Chris Price, Public Sector Director at Computacenter, said: “Primary care trusts are constantly striving to improve patient care and we understand the associated challenges of this in terms of cost and resource.
“Driving efficiencies is critical to achieving this objective and it is great to see Oldham leading the way in outsourcing the management of its IT to technology experts, while it continues to deliver excellent care to the Oldham community.
“With pressure now to find at least £15 billion in savings across the NHS by 2014, it is crucial that primary care trusts look to optimise their IT processes and take advantage of economies of scale by outsourcing IT provision. This will enable them to reduce costs significantly and spend more time with patients.”
