Kent hospitals on the hunt for handful of IT partners

Hospital trust duo on the hunt for IT wares to support its A&E and maternity units

A pair of Kent hospital trusts have teamed up to scout out a handful of IT partners for a 10-year, multimillion-pound deal.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Trust between them serve about 1.3 million locals across seven hospitals and are on the hunt for six new IT suppliers.

The handful of companies will be required to provide the two trusts with a range of kit such as medical information systems, and data storage and management services, as well as installations and consultancy services.

The deal will be worth between £10m and £40m over a 10-year period, after which the authorities will be able to extend the contract for an additional two years at their discretion.

The chosen companies will be charged with implementing a Patient Administration System (PAS) – an automated, paperless document system – as well as tech to improve IT across maternity and Accident and Emergency (A&E) units.

Suppliers have been invited to bid for business across two lots: the former will focus on the PAS and A&E tech and the latter will revolve around data migration and professional services.