Nasstar secures £13m HSCN once for London contracts

NASSTAR SELECTED AS PREFERRED BIDDER FOR THE DELIVERY OF HSCN CONNECTIVITY IN AREAS OF LONDON

Communications and IT services provider, Nasstar, will deliver HSCN connectivity in areas of London following the completion of an Aggregated Procurement managed by NHS Digital on behalf of health and care organisations in the capital. The business could be worth up to £13.3m. 

Over the next three years, Nasstar will provide HSCN connectivity to 34 health and social care customers in areas including Camden, Enfield, Barnet and Haringey, providing 830 managed connections that will allow these organisations to share information and work more efficiently across a common, safe and reliable platform. 

Nasstar will work closely with the health and social care organisations that took part in the Once for London (OfL) Aggregated Procurement including Islington CCG, Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust, and Noah's Ark Children's Hospice. 

Iain Shearman, Nasstar's Business Managing Director, said: "We are delighted to have been chosen by NHS Digital to deliver HSCN services in London. This award demonstrates that we are at the forefront of network transformation and integrated system solutions. 

"HSCN is a great example of how public and private sector networks can work together effectively and use innovative technology to improve health and care outcomes for the public. We are now looking forward to working closely with health and care organisations as well as NHS Digital on making HSCN a success."

Nasstar became HSCN Stage 2 compliant earlier in the year after submitting a detailed design for the service and being able to demonstrate how the solution meets HSCN obligations following extensive testing. 

HSCN replaces the outdated N3 network with a system designed to meet the requirements of an integrated and evolving health and social care sector. 

It will enable greater collaboration between health and social care service providers, improve the ability to send and receive data securely between organisations, provide more cost-effective connectivity and help staff in health and care to work together across a standardised network. 

HSCN will provide health and social care organisations with a more flexible platform that enables them to adapt and grow the services they use in the future without any major implementation issues. 

We have been designing national customer networks with HSCN in mind for some time and we have extensive experience in providing critical services to hospitals, clinical commissioning groups (CCG) and doctor's surgeries through the N3 network. 

Stephen Docherty, Chief Information Officer at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust & Chair of London CIO Council, said: "It's really pleasing to see that the 'Once for London' approach, a result of collaboration with colleagues in NHS Digital, Crown Commercial Services and representatives of health providers across the capital, has successfully concluded. 

"We look forward to working with NAsstar in delivering new HSCN network capabilities, a key step towards the delivery of integrated care across London. HSCN will help health and social care organisations to share data securely and efficiently, ultimately working towards joined-up public services for London".