HSCIC Chooses Accenture To Run NHSmail

The Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) has revealed it has selected IT services firm Accenture to run the new NHS email service.

HSCIC runs NHSmail on behalf of the NHS which has been using the Microsoft Exchange 2007-based system since 2009.

The current contract was originally held with Cable and Wireless (C&W) and was due to expire in July 2013, but after Vodafone bought the company in 2012, it was extended.

The move to the new service is set to take place over 2015/16, costing around £168m.

“Further to a voluntary standstill period which ended at midnight on Monday 13^th April, Accenture has been designated as the preferred supplier for the future NHSmail service,” claimed HSCIC.

“Accenture was selected from five suppliers procured from the Crown Commercial Service (CCS) managed email framework,” it added.

The five suppliers beaten by Accenture are reportedly BT, CSC, General Dynamics and Vodafone.

Huge User Base

More than two-thirds of the NHS, or, 19000 organisations, use NHSmail currently and Trusts have a choice whether they use the service or not.

It is used by more than half a million staff on a daily basis across England and Scotland and HSCIC claims this number grows by 10% every year.

Nearly one million mailboxes are currently in place and the service includes a central directory that allows NHS staff to share calendars and folders in a secure environment.

“NHSmail is a secure email service. It is the only NHS email system accredited to GOVERNMENT OFFICIAL SENSITIVE status approved by the Department of Health (DoH) and endorsed by professional bodies, for the purpose of sharing patient identifiable and other sensitive information,” says HSCIC.

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