LogicaCMG and IDX bag £70m 'hospital of the future' deal

LogicaCMG and IDX Systems have won a £70m contract to build and manage the core technology infrastructure behind the 'hospital of the future' in London.

The £422m 18-storey University College London hospital trust on the Euston Road is due to open in spring 2005 and will replace paper, medical notes, test results, letters and appointments with a single computer-based patient record.

As part of the ten-year deal IDX's LastWord electronic patient record system will be implemented across the UCLH trust's eight hospitals and form the core clinical and administrative system and the new hospital. The system has already been installed at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London.

It is one of the last electronic patient records proceeding ahead of the £2.3bn National Programme for IT in the NHS.

Robert Naylor, CEO of UCLH, said in a statement that the project will deliver the essential IT for a 21st century hospital.

"It will benefit patients by speeding up processes and eliminating human error, and for staff it will take the hassle out of paper work and allow them more time to concentrate on patient care," he said.