The NHS will save an estimated £75m a year after having completed the largest known public data network transition programme. Organisations will be provided with faster connectivity at a reduced cost.
950 private sector, NHS, social care and local authority organisations have moved to the new Health and Social Care Network (HSCN). They form part of about 12,000 sites that have moved from the legacy N3 network. They now have reliable connectivity, receive great value and improved security capabilities.
There is now a marketplace of more than 21 suppliers which organisations can choose from who provide standardised network services. Organisations can now obtain private network connectivity services as well as public internet services over a single connection and at highly competitive prices.
Many organisations have been able to upgrade their connectivity thanks to the new HSCN marketplace and are now able to adopt more cloud-based and digital services as levels of online activities rise due to COVID-19.
Patrick Clark, HSCN Programme Director at NHS Digital said: “This is a hugely significant achievement both in terms of the scale and the benefit of what has been delivered. Reforming long-standing services in order to promote real choice, competition, innovation and value for money is always difficult but the HSCN initiative demonstrates what can be achieved when you work collaboratively across the health and care system, and industry.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated how important it is to underpin online, digital services with the right connectivity and I’m delighted that the HSCN initiative has enabled so many organisations to upgrade and future-proof their connectivity services affordably – in many cases obtaining far greater bandwidth for less money.
“Good connectivity is vital for healthcare practitioners, supporting them with faster, more reliable access to the information and services they need, when they need it. HSCN now provides organisations with the ideal way to obtain the best connectivity for their staff at the best price.”
Dan Parry, HSCN Lead Migration Programme Manager at NHS Digital said: “The completion of the HSCN migration and legacy network termination ahead of schedule and within budget is an incredible achievement, given the project’s size and complexity.
“A great success is seeing the number of local NHS organisations benefiting from significant savings as a result of the HSCN marketplace whilst still being able to upgrade their capacity to fibre-base products. This will enable them to make better use of digital tools not only during the pandemic but as part of their longer-term digital ambitions.
“This has been a mammoth task and as we switch the lights off on the legacy network and bring HSCN migration activity to a close, I look forward to supporting the development of the next generation network connectivity so that health and care sector organisations continue to fulfil their digital ambitions.”
Article source: https://digital.nhs.uk/news-and-events/news/nhs-saves-around-gbp75m-a-year-thanks-to-historic-public-sector-data-network-migration
Tracy is an Editor and Marketing Director who helps healthcare professionals and technology companies work together to digitise the UK healthcare system. After many years of helping award winning technology companies bring their innovations to the UK market she launched the Health Tech Digital resource platform which keeps healthcare professionals up to date with industry news and technology solutions for their establishments. Tracy is also the Marketing Director of Reborn Marketing Ltd and has worked with both private and public sectors focusing on technology in the UK for the past 7 years. If you have news you would like to share or would like to get in touch regarding your healthcare technology solution you can reach Tracy at tracy.williams@healthtechdigital.com.
