Bumper Response to National IT Programme OJEC

Some 99 firms have submitted responses to the Department of Health’s OJEC advertisement inviting expressions of interest from firms to act as prime contractors in delivering the National IT Programme for the NHS.

The DH described the size and quality of the response as excellent, “with all of the major national and international IT companies represented in the list”. The deadline for initial responses for the OJEC notice issued on 31 January 2003 was 13 March.

Applications will now be assessed by an evaluation board to ensure they meet pre-qualification criteria and a long-list of applicants due to be issued by April 2003, with a short-list of applicants envisaged by the end of July.

Richard Granger, director general of NHS IT said in a statement: "This procurement process represents a new way of working for the NHS. We are very pleased with the positive response from the IT industry. The calibre of organisations responding provides a strong foundation for the NHS IT Programme and increases our confidence in the delivery programme."

E-Health Insider understands, however, that the number of responses to the advert – which is mainly intended to procure prime contractors for the NHS IT Programme – has been inflated by specialist application vendors submitting responses, due to the OJEC advert’s lack of clarity.

One leading prospective LSP told E-Health Insider that the lack of detail had made responding difficult because the OJEC advert mainly focused on assessing firms’ capability, capacity and financial stability, and offered little detail of the systems and services to be delivered.

The degree of confusion and uncertainty around the OJEC advert was highlighted by the fact that on 12 March, just one day before the deadline for submissions, the DH issued a Q&A document in response to some fairly fundamental questions raised by prospective suppliers.

This Q&A document makes clear there was uncertainty over whether the advert was inviting responses only from would-be prime contractors – now termed local service providers (LSPs). The Q&A document stated: “It is expected that respondents will be organisations that may wish to enter into contracts to meet the obligations of an LSP or NASP [National Application Service Provider].”

The critical question of what an LSP was actually expected to deliver also vexed a number of firms. In particular the lack of detail over of which elements of Integrated Care Records Services (ICRS) – the central pillar of the programme – they would be expected to deliver. Asked “what is meant by ‘core Phase 1’ ICRS”, the Q&A document replied: “This clarification will be provided in the next stage of the procurement.”

Further questions from prospective prime contractors related to the formation of consortia and how the accreditation process for solutions would operate and fit with the LSP selection process. The answer provided read, “The accreditation process is currently being defined…". Asked what the contracting authority for LSP contracts will be, the department replied, “This is currently envisaged to be the Department of Health.”

If the procurement timetable is to hold, it is clear that a great deal of detailed further work remains to be carried out by both the DH and applicants who make the long-list. Milestones will include the release of the full specification for ICRS, selection of the overall systems architecture by the Design Authority and rapid establishment of the accreditation process for solutions.

According to the official procurement timetable, output based specifications and preliminary invitations to negotiate will be issued in May, and at this point long-listed applicants will be asked to submit more detailed proposals. Initial contracts will be issued in October 2003.

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