Granger says IBA will take control of iSoft within week

Richard Granger, chief executive of Connecting for Health, has inidacted that IBA Health will have control of iSoft within the next week.

However, Granger also warned that he was prepared to ditch iSoft’s Lorenzo software, and make arch rival Cerner’s Millennium the national system across England, if the late-running software doesn’t work or meet NHS requirements.

Speaking after giving evidence to the Commons Health Select Committee Granger said that he had been in consultation with iSoft’s executive chairman, John Weston, and was confident a deal would be finalised by next week.

“I understand that the IBA/iSoft takeover deal is near completion an announcement is due in the next few working days,” he said.

During the committee hearing Granger said that there was ‘a lot of speculation regarding corporate structures that was nearing an end’ regarding iSoft.

Granger was being asked about the suitability of the Lorenzo solution when he offered the assurance about iSoft’s role as a sub-contractor to the National Programme for IT.

He admitted to the committee that he had put in place a team of CfH people in India to work on developing the late-running solution should CSC not agree terms with IBA.

“We have a third party presence in Chennai on a step in basis forcing CSC to step up to the bat for the NHS.”

He added that an initial version of Lorenzo was set for release in Germany very shortly. “We expect within the next couple of weeks to see the first live running of Lorenzo version three to be running in Germany. The NHS will follow next year.”

He told the Committee that if the new iSoft Lorenzo system requires extensive further work after release, CfH may look at making Cerner Millennium the national patient administration system for England, though this was far from ideal, given that NPfIT had set out to avoid a single supplier procurement.

“We have strong foundations to build on. There is a possibility to implement Millennium instead of iSoft. We have dealt with supplier failure, for example Picture Archiving and Communications Systems in the North West and West Midlands, where ComMedica missed nine key milestones and was subsequently replaced by GE.”

The NHS IT boss added that he fully expected there to be teething problems with the Lorenzo system when it is introduced in the UK – now due to happen in 2008.

“I expect there will be difficulties in early sites which will be worked on; and in the last part of 2008, it will rolled out to other sites.”

Granger’s comments came the same day iSoft issued the details of IBA’s offer to shareholders, recommended by the iSoft board. The iSoft statement says: "iSoft is now engaged in constructive discussions with CSC in relation to the commercial arrangements under which CSC would would take a greater role in the management of iSoft’s work on the National Programme for IT and iSoft also continues to seek CSC’s consent to the change of control in iSoft."