Sectra ‘preferred provider’ for PACS and VNA across Greater Manchester

Sectra have been appointed as the preferred provider to supply a picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and a vendor neutral archive (VNA) across Greater Manchester.

It was confirmed to Digital Health News by the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership that the procurement of the two systems began in February 2019.

The current provider of PACS and VNA services is GE Healthcare.

The Greater Manchester Provider Federation Board decided at a meeting in August 2019 to appoint Sectra as the preferred supplier for the contract.

No contract has been signed at this stage.

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership added: “A formal announcement of the new contract holder is planned for 2020 once all project specific schedules have been populated and the full business case is approved at Greater Manchester and an individual trust level.”

There are eight trusts involved. They are:

• Northern Care Alliance NHS Group (Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust)
• Manchester University NHS Foundation
• Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust
• Stockport NHS Foundation Trust
• Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust
• Bolton NHS Foundation Trust
• The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

The trusts will now work with Sectra to engage with the radiology and informatics community to finalise the trust local requirements and implementation plans.

Replacing “old technology” was one of the driving forces behind the procurement.

The spokesperson said: “The existing infrastructure uses old technology, which means the processing and sharing of scans and clinical images takes longer that it should.

“By investing in this new PACS VNA technology, we will be able to instantly share high-quality scans and clinical images to inform better care and treatment for the patient.”