ISoft may need further UK redundancies

ISoft has entered into a consultation that may result in further positions being made redundant.

Last month, the company posted a net loss of £52.9m (AUS $84m) for the six months ending 31 December 2010.

It also said that as part of its drive to cut costs it had reduced its fulltime headcount by 28% over the preceding 12 months.

One source told EHI that iSoft staff are concerned that the latest round of restructuring will leave UK trusts with a "skeleton crew" and limit the company’s ability to carry out new implementations.

However, iSoft said it was focusing on a “proposed reorganisation of the professional services (implementation, delivery, and consultancy) function to ensure we have the right people in the right positions to meet future customer and market needs.”

A spokesperson said the company plans to introduce a ‘clinical’ and ‘solution’ focused implementation and consultancy capability, and a new systems integration function.

He said this would focus on an interactive, teamwork enabled design studio approach, using Viaduct for interoperability, and on the specific skills and experience required to successfully implement ‘Smart Solutions’ such as ePMA.

ISoft also insists that the proposals will have “no impact whatsoever on the implementation of Lorenzo,” the system it provides under its contract with local service provider, CSC, under the National Programme for IT in the NHS, or on the development of upkeep of existing products.

The company’s share price has dropped to an all time low and now stands at AUS $0.03.