CSC locked out of new NHS contracts

Prime Minister David Cameron said yesterday CSC had been suspended from new NHS contracts while the future of the £4.7bn patient record programme is assessed.

Tory MP for Norfolk Richard Bacon said the NHS IT programme "will never deliver on its early promise, that in particular CSC has failed with Lorenzo and that, rather than squandering £4.7bn that is still unspent, the solution is to negotiate a way forward that frees up billions of pounds for the benefit of patients."

Cameron agreed and said: "There are no plans to sign any new contract with Computer Sciences Corporation until the National Audit Office report has been reviewed and until the Public Accounts Committee meetings and the Major Projects Authority reviews have taken place."

He said the Department of Health and the Cabinet Office were considering all options including terminating the contract completely.

CSC shares fell 1.6 per cent on the news. We asked CSC for comment and will update this story should we hear back.

The £12.7bn National Programme for IT has missed almost every target it set itself and broke almost every rule of successful project management.

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A spokeswoman for CSC sent us this statement: "CSC is in the final stages of negotiating a non-binding memorandum of understanding with the NHS. The MOU for the realigned NHS programme is designed to offer the government greater value and flexibility, while achieving desired saving in healthcare. Completion of the MOU has always been dependent on final NHS and other government reviews.

The Prime Minister’s comments today confirmed that the NHS programme reviews must be completed before any NHS agreement would be finalised. No existing CSC UK government contracts are impacted by the NHS reviews and CSC continues to support the NHS and other public sector contracts during these reviews." ®