Cambridge ‘considers’ April signing

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Trust is “considering” signing with Epic for its hospital system in April, one year on from confirming the company as its preferred supplier.

The US supplier won the Cambridge and Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trusts’ joint electronic patient record procurement in April 2012. Hewlett Packard won the hardware and infrastructure part of the tender

A statement from Cambridge at the time said contracts would be signed in June 2012.

The trust is now “considering” signing contracts this April.

A Cambridge spokesman told eHealth Insider: “We are working with suppliers to finalise contracts and are considering moving to contract signature at the beginning of the next financial year.”

EHI reported last November that the EPR contract was under review while foundation trust regulator Monitor took a close look at Cambridge’s performance and finances.

Cambridge remains under close scrutiny by Monitor after it was found to be in significant breach of its terms of authorisation due to successive failure to meet several healthcare targets.

The costs associated with the eHospital programme meant it was flagged for review by the trust to ascertain whether it met certain financial triggers set out in Monitor’s Compliance Framework.

A Monitor spokesperson told EHI the investment needed for the Epic contract does not “at present” require an extension of the trust’s Prudential Borrowing Limit and is not subject to review by the regulator.

Cambridge remains in significant breach and is still required to report regularly to Monitor on its progress.

When Epic was selected ahead of Allscripts and Cerner last April, the decision was seen by many as one of the most important NHS IT procurements in recent years.