Kent collaboration picks Oasis for PAS

Two Kent trusts have appointed Oasis as their preferred supplier for a new patient administration system in a joint procurement process, with a likely go-live date in 2016.

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Foundation Trust chose the PAS as part of their Kent Collaborative Clinical Systems Procurement Programme.

An OJEU notice for the tender in 2013 said Lot 1 would include a patient administration system, order communications, A&E and clinical documentation, while lot 2 was for a maternity administration system.

Both were to be delivered on a “managed services basis” for ten years, with a possible two-year extension.

The tender was worth between £10m – £40m for the Kent collaboration. The group is part of the wider South Acute Programme, involving 23 trusts which got nothing through the National Programme for IT.

Together, they have attracted £80m in central funding for investments in health IT and more than £100m will be invested locally.

Bob Reeves, East Kent’s head of IT, told EHI that Oasis came out top from a shortlist of three suppliers based on its technical capabilities and financial costs.

Reeves said EHI Intelligence’s Clinical Digital Maturity Index shows there are a “cluster” of trusts in the south-east who have implemented Oasis for their PAS, such as East Sussex and Brighton.

The acquisition of Oasis by US clinical software supplier Allscripts was also “somewhat of a delight” for the trust, due to the potential opportunities that may open up outside of the PAS contract.

A lack of interest from “quite a few” PAS suppliers during the procurement process was “dispiriting”, he said.

The trusts have also chosen Euroking as their preferred supplier for a new maternity system.

Reeves said the new maternity system should be in place at East Kent by the middle of 2015, while the PAS implementation will take place 12 to 15 months after the trust finalises its contract with Oasis, expected to be in February next year.

He said the trust has also started to develop plans to implement an electronic prescribing system, which is likely to not take place until 2016 or 2017.

A Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells spokesperson told EHI: “We can confirm that Oasis is our preferred supplier and we are working with them on detailed plans for implementation.”