Northgate to ensure HES remains healthy

Reseller Northgate Information Solutions will provide a face-lift to the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) web site, as part of an existing £6m five-year contract.

The HES web site, which has been operational since April last year, is the national statistical data warehouse for England. It contains information ranging from operations and diagnoses figures, to patient care in NHS hospitals.

Richard Armstrong, healthcare practice manager at Northgate, told CRN that the VAR expects the rebranded web site to be operational by the end of May.

“The web site had featured static content until now,” he said. “But now we will give it much more dynamic content. This is about enabling purely internet-based access to the HES data without the need for Business Objects software.”

Armstrong added that HES also has an existing facility through which end-users can access data. However, it requires them to have both Oracle and Business Objects software.

Armstrong said the web site face-lift will make HES’s data available to all internet users.

A representative for Information Centre for Health and Social Care, the controlling body for HES, told CRN: “Northgate can do the work without us having to make a separate tender, and it will help us to keep our technology up to date.

“We are also aiming to update the data quarterly with the help of Northgate.”

Separately, Northgate has been re-accredited by the e-Government Interoperability Framework Accreditation Authority. The authority defines technical policies and standards for all systems used to deliver government services electronically. Northgate was originally accredited in 2005.

james_sherwood@vnu.co.uk