Leeds takes Agfa PACS

Leeds Teaching Hospital NHS Trust has signed a new contract with Accenture to deploy Agfa’s picture archiving and communications system.

The trust is in the exit phase of the NPfIT PACS contract, but has decided to continue with Accenture and Afga HealthCare as its service providers.

The Agfa PACS was delivered to trusts in the North, Midlands and East by Accenture as part of the national programme. In May last year, the Department of Health signed a one-year extension with the company.

Eileen Jessop, Leeds’ deputy informatics director, told EHI that the new contract was not a part of the extension, but the result of a new tender.

“We want to do it differently this time, we want a partner. We want to get image sharing right across the region,” she said.

“The trust hopes to breathe new life into the contract with Accenture and Afga.”

She added that it had been a quick verdict as the trust made its decision just two weeks after closing the tender.

“This contract forms a core part of the trusts informatics strategy, and the relationship with Accenture and Afga going forward is key to the organisation,” said Jessop.

The Leeds trust board approved a comprehensive five-year informatics strategy in 2011, which aims to deliver a paper-lite environment at the trust.

The trust is currently undergoing a complete IT overhaul, which will see several new systems implemented and improved. This includes an image exchange portal for radiology and cardiology.

“We want to get hold of the images in one repository for everything and we want a vendor neutral archive into the portal,” said Jessop.

Other IT projects include a new version of the trust’s open source clinical portal, results reporting, and implementing electronic discharge summaries into GP records.

Read more about Leeds’ informatic strategy in Insight.