Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust and Barnsley NHS Foundation Trust have become among the first in the country to complete a procurement using the Additional Supply Capability and Capacity framework contract.
The two trusts have used ASCC to procure a shared laboratory information management system from CliniSys.
In December 2007, the two trusts decided to establish a pathology partnership across their two pathology laboratories. Its business plan depended on the rapid selection and implementation of a LIMS, to realise substantial financial and service reconfiguration benefits.
The subsequent ASCC procurement was completed in just ten weeks from start to finish. Independent consultant Mike Eades, who project managed the procurement, said: "One of the major benefits of utilising the ASCC process is the significant reduction in procurement timescale.
“Within 10 weeks of issuing the initial call-off notice, the trusts had completed their evaluation and selected their preferred contractor.”
Eades added that an additional benefit of ASCC is that it provides a single contract for both product purchase and on-going support.
He said: “Terms and conditions appear to be stronger than the traditional NHS conditions of contract for the supply of IT systems (SYSCON) and NHS conditions of contract for the provision of support services (SSCON)."
The two trusts have chosen to purchase the CliniSys LIMS instead of waiting for local service provider Computer Sciences Corporation to deliver an iSoft LIMS.
Last August, Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust placed an advert in the Official Journal of the European Union stating its intention to procure an electronic patient record system outside of the National Programme for IT in the NHS.
Andrew Davies, supplies manager for the trust said: “The CliniSys proposal offered best value for money and was within the financial limits identified within the trust’s business case.”
Steve Hall and Keith McMillan, the pathology laboratory managers at Barnsley and Rotherham, respectively, said: "We evaluated contractors’ responses against four criteria and selected CliniSys because it came first in each of the criteria.”
The new CliniSys system will replace a Sunquest LIMS at Barnsley and a Trent Phoenix system at Rotherham. It will deliver a modern, flexible, fully functional, CfH-compliant IT solution that will also interface with existing trust systems.