DoH ends NHS-wide Novell deal

Local trusts will be responsible for future procurement and compliance when the £6.4m deal ends in October, the DoH said. "The current national Enterprise Wide Agreement with Novell will expire on 30 October 2010. Future investment decisions will be taken at a local level in line with the proposals set out in the white paper Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS ," said a spokesperson for the department. "Novell, NHS Connecting for Health and NHS trusts are engaged in constructive discussions to ensure ongoing operation of the Novell installed base following the transfer of contracts to local ownership." Connecting for Health signed the agreement with the software services supplier in 2005. The deal includes identity, desktop and server management services. In July the DoH also axed a similar NHS-wide agreement with Microsoft.