NHS supplier BT has confirmed that it is switching its main software subcontractor for the London region of the £6bn National Programme, as reported in Computing last month (6 July).

GE Healthcare, which acquired BT subcontractor IDX last November, will be replaced with supplier Cerner.

Both companies say the split is amicable and follows a routine post-acquisition review by GE. But the London implementation has been dogged by delays and IDX was replaced with Cerner in the South last summer.

NHS IT directors in London say it is not yet clear if the swap will solve the capital’s problems.

‘The jury is out on whether BT can perform; just switching supplier is not enough in itself,’ said one NHS insider.

There is also scepticism about Cerner’s ability to deliver the London contract on top of its commitments in the South, not least because its first full-scale acute hospital implementation only went ahead last week.

Cerner’s success will depend on how fast it can expand its operations, says Ovum analyst Tola Sargeant. ‘It is still early days for Cerner in the South and it will take time to be able to carry on the rollout in London as well,’ she said.

z Eighty hospitals across the Midlands and North West were left without access to patient administration systems following power supply problems at a Maidstone data centre provided by supplier CSC Alliance.

The failure occurred on Sunday, and some services had still not been restored as Computing went to press.

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