NHS deal verdict expected this month

Nervous wait on potential £65m deal continues as contract requires ministerial approval

Cash injection: the equivalent existing deal has been worth an annual £65m

Software players waiting on the award of a huge NHS deal are set to remain on tenterhooks until later this month.

The contract will be awar­d­ed through the £6bn Buying Solutions Commo­dity IT Hard­ware and Soft­ware (CITHS) framework. CRN under­stands the 10 suppliers in the software lot were invi­ted on 24 May to submit bids for the contract. These were submitted on 28 May. Bet­ween three and five suppliers will be chosen.

It is understood that the equivalent existing contract has been worth £65m a year between three firms. A verdict had been expec­ted as early as last week, but sources indicated a decision was likely to be reached at the end of the month.

“It has to go to ministerial level,” said one source.

The contract is one of the first major deals to go through the much-publicised CITHS framework.

“This is the one that we have all been waiting for,” said another source.

Contract specifications and volumes, and potential large account reseller suppliers, will have been agreed with Microsoft before channel firms were invited to bid.
Buying Solutions finalised the 20 suppliers to make the cut for the CITHS framework in March.

One supplier claimed there are still many public sector bodies buying outside the framework, wasting up to £80,000 a time conducting their own due diligence.

“All the work has already been done by Buying Solu­tions,” said the source. “I still feel many people are not aware [of the framework]; the government needs to push people towards it."