Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has become the first trust in the UK to award a five-year contract to Allscripts Healthcare for the implementation of an electronic patient record. EHI reports that the trust will be deploying a number of modules including e-referrals, a patient portal, clinical portal and various ward management tools.

Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has begun the roll out of tablet devices to hundreds of clinicians. The first tablet devices will be given to community services staff and then be rolled out to a further 400 workers including district nurses and then its remaining 500 clinicians.

EHI reveals that Epic has won Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust’s electronic patient record procurement, beating Cerner and Allscripts in the final stages tender. Hewlett Packard has won the hardware and infrastructure part of the tender.

Health secretary Mr Lansley has suggested CCG funding should take into account the age of a population rather than indices of deprivation, arguing age is the “principal determinant of health need” in an area. From next year CCG budgets will be decided by the NHS Commissioning Board with guidance from the Advisory Committee on Resource Allocation reports HSJ.

Campaign4Change has controversially reported on the £2M overspend at North Bristol NHS Trust for their Cerner implementation, while a local charity linked to the trust has raised £20,000 to buy 10 cardiac monitors.  EHI however, reports on the success of its neighbouring Trust University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust and its successful go-live of System C’s PAS and EPR!

NHS Supply Chain has launched a procurement to create a single national framework for picture archiving and communication systems and radiology information systems. According to EHI this framework will provide further choice to trusts as they near the end if their local service provider contracts for PACS and related services.

Years of underinvestment has forced Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust to adopt a ‘better basics’ policy in order to have adequate PCs and internet access.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust has handed all its IT and communications technology services to 2e2 (subscription required) in a contract that will run until 2019. The company will take over from the mental health organisation’s current provider, Sussex Health Informatics Service, this year.

Research by the Patients Association has revealed a 6% rise in waiting times for basic planned operations like knee replacements. It also suggest that fewer operations are taking place as hospitals struggle to save money.

Innovative eHealth and mHealth solutions from SMEs could win a share of a £180m government grant fund.  The Biomedical Catalyst programme will support opportunities with the highest scientific and commercial potential, irrespective of medical area.