Along with two other competing consortia, a group including Thorn EMI’s Software Sciences Ltd, Tower Hamlets Health Authority and DEC have been shortlisted for the health computing project at Greenwich District Hospital. The pilot project follows the government’s White Paper Working for Patients which emphasised the role of hospital information support systems in transforming the National Health Service. The recommendations fell short of the requirements many hospital professionals felt were needed to implement an adequate system. Basically, their criticisms were that resource management systems are merely glorified accounting systems unable to anlayse the quality of care provided (CI No 1,178). The consortium led by Software Sciences is taking note of this critique and is designing its hospital information support system accordingly. This means that it will not only address the integration of patient records, treatment costs and admissions, but will also provide data on laboratory activity, wards and clinics. Software Sciences says that the system it is proposing will not, however, be exorbitantly expensive, since it is taking advantage of its position as a software systems integration house to sub-contract suppliers rather than offering a bespoke solution. These as yet unnamed subcontractors will provide nursing, clinical management and pharmacy systems. Software Sciences’ director Bob Newman believes that National Health Service procurements will become more software-based than hardware-based with choice of hardware becoming secondary to choice of the best software systems. Naturally enough, however, he added that DEC, augmented by Performance Software’s transaction processing software (as proposed by Software Sciences for Greenwich) seemed an excellent choice. Software Sciences itself is a newcomer to the health market, being active predominantly in the financial, defence, commercial and local government sectors. Nevertheless, it has formed a partnership with the Tower Hamlets Computer Centre in a bid to become the principal systems integrator in the UK health sector. Tower Hamlets’ system is used at The London Hospital in Whitechapel, and in 11 others across three District Health Authorities. Software Sciences’ move into health has been made because the National Health Service needs integrated hospital systems and will gain funding to purchase them at a time when, Newman believes, that the sector is not dominated by suppliers and has a lack of systems integration and project management skills. The two rival shortlisted consortia are composed of TDS, with Touche Ross and Transition Systems and HBO with Data General UK and PMM.
