A £1.5bn framework to upgrade the NHS’s IT systems has gone live, according to NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS).
The framework agreement, which is a partnership between NHS SBS and the North of England Commercial Procurement Collaborative, enables teams to buy vetted suppliers ‘quickly and compliantly’.
The Tech Devices Link 4 framework is recommended for the NHS and wider public sector, including local authorities and education trusts.
It provides a route to source consumer-oriented technologies such as laptops, notebooks, tablets, desktops, healthcare related IT hardware such as workstation on wheels, clinical reporting monitors, infection control products, printers and scanners. It also includes refurbished and remanufactured IT goods.
The agreement is active from 1 April 2025 until 31 March 2028, but there is an option to extend it until 31 March 2029.
Sakir Mahmud, principal category manager for digital and IT at NHS SBS, said: ‘The NHS’s vision of a streamlined, inclusive digital health service depends on a robust IT infrastructure. Modernising IT equipment is vital to overcoming challenges, enabling innovation, and ensuring healthcare professionals can prioritise patient care.’
Last month it was revealed that NHS SBS is also planning a new framework agreement for AI in healthcare, called the Healthcare Artificial Intelligence Solutions.
It comes as the NHS App is aiming for 100 million logins by next year, according to NHS England.
In January, NHS England awarded a £37.5m contract to tech consultancy firm BJSS for digital services, including the development of the NHS App.
In November, 1,400 libraries across England were supporting patients to get access to the NHS App as part of a scheme announced in August.
