05 September 2003
The huge NHS IT programme was dealt a blow this week when one of the major bidders confirmed it had pulled out of the race to supply key elements of the new infrastructure.
The programme, known as the National Programme for IT, is worth £2.3bn over three years. It has four key elements – electronic appointment booking, care records service, prescribing and an underpinning IT infrastructure.
US giant Lockheed Martin was shortlisted for local and national contracts but has now withdrawn from the competition. Ten consortiums remain in competition for the local contracts but BT and IBM are the only bidders left competing to provide the national service.
A spokesman for Lockheed Martin said it could not say why it had pulled out because of the terms of the bidding process. But he strongly denied suggestions that it was because it did not have the capacity to cover the NHS programme and another major contract for the Ministry of Defence.
'We are one of the largest IT companies in the US. This is not a stretch issue,' he added.
A Lockheed source said the firm withdrew because penalty clauses demanded by the government were too restrictive and the private sector would shoulder most of the risks in the deals.
The Department of Health short-listed bidders last month. Five local service providers will implement and manage the systems locally, while national application service providers will develop and run the systems underpinning e-booking,
e-prescription and electronic records.
The first contracts are due to be signed next month.
Last month the National Audit Office launched a preliminary inquiry into the National Programme.
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