EDS wants to save the NHS

EDS is in talks with the government and is offering to overhaul the NHS's ailing IT system.

The company said talks are at a preliminary stage, but followed a recent commitment from the government to modernise the healthcare sector.

David Fisher, strategy director for EDS UK & Ireland, said it is too early to forecast the value or nature of a NHS contract, but any deal could prove to be very lucrative, coming at a time when the government is under pressure to improve NHS systems.

The Wanless report on IT expenditure in the NHS, published last week, recommended that the government double its spending in this area.

And in last week's budget Chancellor Gordon Brown promised an extra £40bn would be spent in all sectors of the NHS over the next five years.

Projects currently under review include a national database of patient records and electronic systems for prescribing drugs.

Fisher said he was pleased to see the government commit to rapid improvement, but stressed that it needs to adopt a partnership approach if it is to achieve its IT goals.

"We're witnessing a complete shift in the government's position [on NHS IT spending] The move to a common national infrastructure is all happening with enormous speed, but the only way the government will achieve this is with a partnership approach. You can't do this if you take on the old fashioned, beat-them-up approach to contractors," he said.

While EDS expects to see its major rivals put in counter-bids, Fisher said competition is difficult to pinpoint, because healthcare IT is a very fragmented market littered with small players.

But he said EDS and the government will need to partner with smaller suppliers if they are to reach their targets.

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