Cisco Systems announced this week that it has been awarded a contract by BT to help build the New NHS Network (N3) for NHS Scotland connecting 3,000 NHS locations around the country.
Ron MacDonald, principal consultant, national services, NHS Scotland, said: “This project represents one of the biggest information and communications technology procurements ever undertaken by NHS Scotland and it underpins the whole of Scotland’s e-health strategy.”
He continued: “The N3 Network will help improve the provision of healthcare for Scotland’s population of five million people because it delivers a more reliable network. Using the network, for example, to send digital images of a patient’s condition from the Shetlands to specialists in Glasgow or Edinburgh, means that medical expertise is far more accessible to patients in remote areas.”
The contract to develop and install N3 in Scotland was awarded to BT earlier this year. Cisco will help deliver the contract as one of BT’s suppliers.
As well as improving communication between centres, the new Scottish N3 network will make PACS systems more reliable or, in some cases, open up availability to the more remote parts of Scotland.
Cost savings are expected to flow from the network’s integration of voice, video and data. Scotland’s current, less extensive network supports data communications only.
The N3 network, which is part of a UK-wide initiative to improve NHS networks, will use Cisco 10720, 7200 and 1700 series routers. The solutions will be developed and installed by BT. Work is due to be completed by 2007.