NHS fine stirs BT into broadband action
Telco stung for £4.5m by NPfIT after project delays
BT claimed its NHS broadband project is "back on track" as news emerged last week that the UK telco giant is facing a £4.5m fine from the National Project for IT (NpfIT).
Part of the NHS's £6.2bn NpfIT remit was to create an electronic patient record, electronic prescribing and an online hospital appointment booking system. The aim of BT's project, known as the N3 contract, was to deliver an improved broadband link to enable the NHS programme to run smoothly.
However, the rollout, part of a £530m deal that carries severe penalties for late delivery, has been delayed. As a result, the NHS has been shelling out to use a slower, more expensive system that BT had installed previously.
BT said in a statement: "This is a seven-year contract which started more slowly than intended but is now back on track. As a consequence of the slow start, the NHS will realise fewer savings this year than anticipated, and BT is negotiating a contribution to those savings."
An NPfIT representative said: "[We are] in discussions with BT to seek an agreed settlement to the value of some £4.5m on the NPfIT N3 contract.
"However, we have worked closely with BT to produce an agreed plan to get the work back on track and early signs are promising."
Justin Orde, joint managing director of broadband ISP and comms provider Spitfire, said BT made a major directional change when it won the NHS contract.
"We are not talking about engineers up telephone poles. BT is now competing with the likes of CapGemini and IBM for major IT contracts. This NHS win was a massive shift for it into a more computer-oriented environment," he said.
"But I would say this is just teething problems. The NHS is a very big organisation and is looking for value for money. BT will deliver on the contract, because it will help it win similar-sized contracts in other markets."