System and support services

Tender description

Support for the EPES software and underlying support systems needs to continue so that the prescription payment services that the BSO and HSCNI rely on can continue to be delivered without risk of failure for the period Jan 21-Dec 22. Following a competitive procurement process a contract was signed with Hewlett-Packard now DXC on 28 July 2006. DXC retains the intellectual property rights of the entire EPES solution. A full hardware and software refresh was undertaken in 2017 to enable the application to be future proofed until 2024. Without EPES the monthly annual payments to the independent contractors of some GBP 700 million per annum cannot be made and all EPES associated BSO Business Services and prescription fraud prevention activities will cease. The contract term has been selected as above as the counter fraud and ophthalmic elements are currently under review and will be replaced with new independent systems.