IT services giant Softcat secures £4m contract to provide digital devices for staff at the new Royal Hospital in Liverpool. Tony McDonough reports

Staff at the new Royal Hospital in Liverpool will use digital devices supplied by IT services giant Softcat in a £4m deal.

Softcat, a £1.1bn stock market-listed business based in Buckinghamshire, will provide end-user devices, peripherals, pre-staging, deployment, engineering, and recycling services at the hospital.

Originally due to open in 2017 and costing hundreds of millions of pounds, the new Royal was delayed following the collapse of main contractor Carillion. Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust finally took control of the building in July this year. It is due to open in October.

Softcat will support the opening and operation of the 640-bed hospital. It will work as an extension of the trust’s digital services delivery team. Softcat is an approved supplier on more than 50 UK and Ireland Government frameworks.

This device contract was awarded following a further competition via the Health Trust Europe (HTE) ICT Solutions Framework (ComIT 2 – Complete IT). This is a framework that offers a broad scope of ICT, including hardware, software and professional services.

Adam Rice, public sector director at Softcat, said: “The contract builds on more than 10 years’ experience in helping our healthcare and NHS customers deliver a safer, efficient environment for their staff and patients.

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“NHS Trusts are being challenged by the need to transform the way they deliver care, while continuing to manage unprecedented demand. By helping trusts harness the power of technology, we enable them to meet the challenge head on.”

Dr Jason Bincalar, chief information officer at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, added: “Softcat is a valued strategic partner which brings to the table significant IT experience and great capability.

“The Trust needed an innovative way to equip the new hospital without compromising the high-quality service that our digital team provides. Sharing this challenge with Softcat and leveraging their full technology life cycle service has proved to be the best approach.”