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By Andy McCue, 22 September 2003 16:39

NEWS The NHS is close to choosing a preferred bidder for its £150m national e-booking contract, just a week after one of the main contenders, EDS was dropped from the running. The contract is due to be awarded by the end of this month and speculation is growing that SchlumbergerSema has been given the nod ahead of Fujitsu. If SchlumbergerSema does win the contract it will be a boost following it losing out on the £4bn Inland Revenue Aspire contract last month as part of a consortium with BT and CSC. Industry analysts claimed one of the reasons it was dropped was speculation about a potential buyout, and it is unclear if today's news that the firm has been bought by Atos Origin in a €1.3bn deal, will have any bearing on the NHS contract. A spokesman for the National Programme for IT (NPfIT) in the NHS would only say that a formal announcement on the successful bidder will be made in the next three to four weeks. "The NPfIT in the NHS is in the final stages of the electronic booking programme competition, which is one of its four key developments. There continues to be a number of formal processes and approvals to be undertaken and obtained leading up to the contract award," he said. A spokesman for Fujitsu declined to comment, citing the now familiar draconian confidentiality clauses imposed by NHS IT chief Richard Granger, aimed at stopping leaks of sensitive information. SchlumbergerSema also declined to comment. Laurence Hamilton, NHS Programme Manager at supplier industry body Intellect, said the NPfIT is progressing on target to the original deadlines, but warned that as contracts begin to be awarded communication needs to improve. "The deadlines have been stuck to and that is a good thing but we would welcome more openness. The Local Service Providers will be starting work soon and there are still people who aren't aware what the national programme is or what it is going to bring. The issue around communication is key," he said. "Things have proceeded at pace and there are two camps of suppliers – those in the know and those who aren't. It has been difficult for those to glean what is going on."