Brighton and Sussex selects Capula Elan

Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust has awarded a three-year deal to Capula Elan  to modernise its ageing patient administration systems (PAS).

Capula Elan will replace the trust’s existing PAS systems, supplied by Torex and IRC, with its Oasis system. The three-year contract covers two major hospital sites and six organisations.

The deal is the first signed by Capula Elan the healthcare division of Capula Ltd, which took over Elan Technologies this September. Mike Singer, general manager of Capula Elan, told E-Health Insider that the deal was worth "just under £1m".

He added that the three-year period was a reflection of what was happening in the health IT market, with the trust not wishing to "tie their hands" beyond the three year duration of the deal.

"The trust is in a position where prime service providers are coming along, but they had a business imperative to bring together two PAS systems," said Mr Singer.

The system will serve six organisations – Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton; Royal Alexandra Hospital for Sick Children; Sussex Eye Hospital; Princess Royal Hospital, Haywards Heath; Hurstwood Park Neurosurgery Centre and part of Brighton General Hospital.

Once implemented it is anticipated the PAS will be accessed by more than 1600 staff, booking in the region of 400,000 outpatient appointments and 180,000 ADT functions.

Caroline Moth, EPR Project Manager, speaking on behalf of the trust, said: “We are delighted to have awarded the Patient Administration System contract to Siemens/Capula Elan. We are confident that the implementation of Oasis across the whole Trust will provide a very firm foundation for the Trust’s future EPR programme."

Ms Moth added: "This new Trust-wide PAS will not only be funded within current revenue expenditure, but savings from our current total expenditure, will enable us to return some of the IM&T budget back to direct patient care."

The new system is scheduled to go live in mid-to-late summer 2003. Ms Moth concluded: "We are anticipating the next few months, during implementation and go-live will be extremely busy but very exciting."

Capula Elan says that over 100 NHS Trusts now use its IT solutions, with 20 using either its Oasis EPR or PAS products. Its systems are currently in use in 27 sites internationally, including clinics and hospitals in Italy, South Africa and Middle East.