LONDON -- BT today welcomed the fact that that it has been awarded a ten-year contract, worth £996 million over the next ten years, by the Department of Health as part of the NHS National Programme for IT. As Local Service Provider for London, BT will design, deliver and operate integrated local patient record applications and systems for the whole London care community.

Sir Christopher Bland, BT's Chairman, said: "We are delighted to have been chosen by the NHS to deliver a key part of the National Programme for IT, one of the biggest and most ambitious healthcare IT projects in the world. Our technology and expertise will help to provide real benefits to NHS patients and staff. It will improve the working lives of nurses and doctors, offering easy and secure access to patient records. We look forward to working with the NHS to make this programme a powerful force for improving patient care."

Ben Verwaayen, BT's Chief Executive Officer, said "These wins are BT's biggest ever, and evidence of the new face of BT truly emerging. This is BT taking on world class competition on its own territory and winning".

When fully implemented the NHS Care Records Service will enable NHS organisations to record and exchange patient and care information electronically, eliminating duplication of patient files and improving information-sharing between healthcare professionals.

BT is the prime contractor and will deliver and operate the service through Syntegra - its systems integration subsidiary. It will work with a number of companies with world-class experience in the development, deployment and operation of healthcare IT systems.

Tim Smart, chief executive of Syntegra, commented: "We share the government's vision of the NHS as a world-class patient care provider and our people and the expert partners we have chosen to work with are committed to making that vision a reality."

BT is a leading provider of integrated business systems and the largest supplier of ICT services to the NHS:

NHSnet, Europe's largest private secure network, and the NHS Messaging Service, which delivers more than one million emails, prescriptions and clinical records each day, have together enabled NHS people to exchange and access information quickly - a vital contribution to effective healthcare.

The NHS Numbers For Babies service ensures that within minutes of a baby's birth midwives can obtain their all-important NHS number. This unique identifier forms the basis of a lifelong electronic care record, eliminates incomplete or muddled sets of information and helps ensure prompt and appropriate care for infants right from birth.

BT technology underpins NHS Direct, which has provided help and advice on health matters to more than five million citizens.

NHS24 is another example of national programmes delivered and managed by BT for the benefit of NHS people and patients.

In London BT is currently delivering services to Guy's & St Thomas' Hospital, Camden Primary Care Trust, Islington Primary Care Trust and University College Hospital. BT is also providing data networks for Inner West London and East London and a local area network at Central Middlesex Hospital.

The NHS Care Records Service will work with the national applications being developed as part of the National Programme for IT. These include a nationally accessible patient record database, the electronic transfer of prescriptions and the introduction of electronic appointment booking in the summer of 2004.

Richard Granger, Director General of NHS IT says "I am delighted that we are now working with BT in implementing such an important element of the National Programme for IT, which will provide every patient an individual NHS Care Record.

"BT's commitment to this project has been clearly demonstrated throughout the procurement process and I look forward to working with them to deliver a world-class solution to patients and healthcare professionals alike."

In a separate release:

BT today welcomed the fact that it has been awarded a 10-year contract, worth £620 million, with the Department of Health as part of the NHS National Programme for IT. As a National Application Service Provider, BT will design, deliver and manage a national patient record database and transactional messaging service which is critical to the NHS Care Records Service.

The database will hold electronic summary patient records. These secure records will be shared nationally with clinicians and medical practitioners dependent on their access authority. Patients will no longer be required to repeat information about their medical history at different stages of the care process. By ensuring that the right information about a patient is in the right place at the right time, BT's solution will help the NHS extract greater value from its investments and deliver a better service.

Working in association with BT are other companies with world-class experience in the development, deployment and operation of healthcare IT systems including Oracle, Sun Microsystems and LogicaCMG.

British Telecommunications plc (BT)