ASCC long list published

Connecting for Health has published the long list for its Additional Supply Capability and Capacity (ASCC) procurement with 116 companies named.

The ASCC procurement is intended to establish a series of IT framework contracts that can be used by CfH and other purchasers to a “broad based supplier community”. The IT framework contracts will comprise pre-negotiated terms and conditions.

In total 34 national suppliers and 82 small and medium enterprise suppliers are included in the long list which is split into national and small and medium enterprise (SME) suppliers in four different categories or lots. The link to the full list is published below. 

Lot one covers information and communications technology; lot two covers clinical information technology; lot three covers hardware, infrastructure and associated services; while lot four covers test environments and related services

Familiar companies already involved in NPfIT named in the four national lots include: CSC, BT, Fujitsu, Accenture, iSoft and Cerner.

Other big names on the ASCC long list in the national lots, include: Atos Origin, Siemens, Tata Consultancy, Oracle, McKesson, Logica CMG, Perot Systems, IBM, Capgemini and Electronic Data Systems.

The four SME lots have the most companies in them, with by far the greatest number in the lot two (clinical information technology) category. They include: Software of Excellence, Anglia, JAC, Egton Medical Information Systems, In4Tek, Ascribe, PICIS, Adastra, Ultragenda, Digital Healthcare, Cambio Healthcare, Systems C, Stalis, CSW Group, Capula Healthcare, Intersystems, Courtyard Group and Misys.

Not all companies that have delivered successfully delivered systems under NPfIT are listed, one notable exception being Liquid Logic.

There remains, however, a great deal of confusion among suppliers about how CfH envisages the ASCC procurement being used. This confusion was compounded by the recent supplier briefing events on 1 and 2 August, which several industry sources reported to EHI indicated CfH had no coherent idea yet of how it plans to use ASCC.

According to the briefing pack that CfH provided to supplies ASCC provides “a contingent route to safeguard existing NHS IT systems”, plus “an optional vehicle to deliver new services, systems and hardware not comprehended under existing NHS IT contracts”.

At its 1 and 2 August supplier briefing CfH said that there was no new committed spend to ASCC and added that the authority reserved the right not to award a contract at all.

CfH says in its guidance: “it is not intended that any ASCC awarded frameworks will conflict with existing contractual arrangements and there are no guarantees of volumes of business in the ASCC framework contracts”.

According to CfH the project has now entered a ‘dialogue phase’, with longlisted suppliers receiving an Invitation to Participate in a Dialogue (ITPD). “During this phase longlisted suppliers will receive further information concerning the scope of the services required in each of the four Lots,” says the agency.

At its recent briefings CfH set out its planned timetable for the next stages of the ASCC procurement. By 14 September CfH says dialogue with suppliers will end and by 21 September final tender documentation will be issued to suppliers. It is intended that contracts will be signed by 10 December.

Links

The full list of suppliers can be accessed at: http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk/industry/ascc/ascc-bidder