Uttar Pradesh: NHS Shared Business Services has today announced it has renewed its long-term strategic contract with ten NHS organisations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, worth €15m (£13.5m) over an additional four years. Starting 1st April 2011, the contract includes the provision of Finance & Accounting and Payroll Services and follows the merger and restructure of community Primary Care Trusts (PCTs).

The ten NHS organisations across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight covered by the agreement are:

— NHS Hampshire

— NHS Portsmouth

— NHS Isle of Wight

— NHS Southampton

— Solent NHS Trust

— Hampshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

— Winchester and Eastleigh Healthcare NHS Trust

— Southampton University Hospitals NHS Trust

— Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust

— South Central Strategic Health Authority

NHS SBS acquired Hampshire Shared Financial Services in 2005, providing it with the Payroll platform to extend the Payroll Service to new clients. NHS SBS, a joint venture between the Department of Health and Steria, will work in partnership with the ten organisations to carry out their automation project which covers Payroll services and organisational changes required to meet GP Consortia needs. The extended partnership will continue to drive major cost and efficiency savings.

Chris Palmer, Director of Finance at Isle of Wight NHS Primary Care Trust, said: “NHS SBS plays an integral role in our strategy to build speed and reliability into our systems through automated processes. We are currently undergoing significant change to meet the requirements of the new NHS structure, and with pressure on budgets we are making every effort to achieve efficiencies in the process. NHS SBS provides a wealth of management information, which means we will have improved financial controls, better systems management and a more robust IT infrastructure.”

John Neilson, Chief Executive of NHS SBS, said, “We have worked hard over the years to build on best practice for all organisations within the NHS. Our dedicated team of people will build on cost efficiencies already achieved for the Hampshire community organisations, and continue to deliver value through quality of service and improved business intelligence during this period of transformation to GP Consortia.”