NHSE awards £37.5m contract for digital services

According to a contract award notice published last week, consultancy firm BJSS Limited will deliver “large-scale public facing digital services” and support development of the NHS.uk website and the “wider portfolio” of digital services including the NHS app and NHS Login.

The government is promising major developments to the NHS app in coming years, and its recent elective reform plan mandated trusts must ensure the majority of elective appointments could be managed via the app by March 2026.

It said 85 per cent of acute hospitals must be connected by March 2025, with proxy access for parents and carers to be rolled out by March 2027.

The contract, which was awarded in December, will see BJSS support this work through to December 2027.

According to a blog published on its website, BJSS has worked with the NHS for eight years, having “restructured or built many of the national systems which help the NHS to coordinate, deliver and report on activity across England”.

At the height of the covid-19 pandemic, the firm worked on implementing video consultations in the app, and making improvements to the NHS log-in. Its office is on the same road as NHS England’s headquarters in Leeds.

Currently, around 81 per cent of acute trusts and 90 per cent of GP practices are connected with the NHS App.

It has been identified as one of three priority areas for investment to improve elective performance, alongside the Federated Data Platform and e-Referral Service.

Lauren Bevan, head of healthcare strategy at BJSS, said: ”BJSS and its team of 600 health specialists are delighted to continue supporting NHSE run and develop the NHS.uk website which provides a trusted source of high-quality health information.”

An NHSE spokesperson said: “Technology will play a key role in the new 10 Year Health Plan. This contract is part of our plans to use technology to transform the NHS and give patients more control over how they manage their healthcare.”