Legacy McKesson sites fail to deploy

Half of a group of NHS trusts using legacy Totalcare and Star patient administration systems will not deploy replacement systems before the end of their support contracts this month. 

McKesson has agreed to provide extended support for the systems as 13 of the 26 trusts using them will fail to implement new PAS’ by the end of March, when the support contracts were due to expire.

Last year, as it became clear that many of the trusts would not get replacement systems in place on time, McKesson told EHI that it would provide extended support for trusts taking the Medway PAS from System C, a McKesson company.

The company said previously that it would not support those taking systems for other suppliers, but has changed this position.

Paul Richards, managing director for health and social care at McKesson, told EHI that the support contract until March 2014 was to give trusts “ample opportunity to move to an alternative system.”

“Since that point, McKesson has continued to communicate with all its customers and has recently received requests for an extension to the support contract from a number of these customers,” he said.

Barnsley Hospital NHS Trust, which is taking CSC’s electronic patient record system Lorenzo this summer, was in the process of arranging its own, local support for its legacy PAS, but will instead get it from McKesson.

McKesson has also agreed to extend Totalcare support for Medway NHS Foundation Trust, which is moving to the Oasis PAS in May and Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which is deploying Ascribe in May-June.

Queen Elizabeth Hospital, now part of Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust and Whipps Cross Hospital, now part of Barts Health NHS Trust, will also continue to get support until they go-live with Cerner Millennium later this year.

“The extensions have been agreed to ensure that these trusts can transition to their new systems safely,” said Richards.

“These extensions are an ongoing testament of [Mckesson and System C] commitment to support trusts and the belief that information technology must underpin the successful delivery of high quality patient care.”

According to trust board minutes, Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust is due to deploy its Cosmic electronic patient record system from Cambio at the end of April. EHI is not aware of the trust receiving extended support from McKesson.

Seven trusts taking the Medway PAS will also fail to deploy their replacement systems by the end of March.

EHI understands that  Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust and North Middlesex Hospital NHS Trust aim to go live in April; Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust plans to go live at the end of May; United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust will deploy its PAS this summer; Southport and Ormskirk NHS Trust plans to go live this autumn; Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust aims for a late summer-early autumn deployment; and Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, the last trust to sign a replacement contract, plans to deploy the Medway PAS in October.

McKesson first announced that the lifecycle of the Totalcare and Star products was coming to an end in 2010.

However, as it became clear that the National Programme for IT was running late, the Department of Health signed a deal with McKesson to support the 26 trusts running Totalcare and Star until March 2014.