LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM--(Marketwired - July 31, 2014) - CGI (NYSE:GIB) (TSX:GIB.A) and West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, which manages hospitals in Watford, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead, have partnered to upgrade the Trust's IT infrastructure to help improve patient care and safety through better access to information for clinicians and other staff. The five-year contract is valued at approximately £25.5million.
CGI will develop an infrastructure and service management program that supports staff across the Trust's three hospitals and at additional smaller healthcare sites throughout west Hertfordshire via an outcome-based contract. This will result in more reliable and robust IT services and support, including faster networks, improved telephone systems and increased IT security. A new 24/7 help desk for nurses, doctors and other staff who have IT issues also will be put in place. New or upgraded devices will be issued to staff who need them, including PCs, laptops, tablets and other electronic devices.
Samantha Jones, Trust chief executive said: "This is great news for our hospitals, our patients and our staff. The investment we are making to update our technology and improve our IT services will without doubt help us to deliver better and safer care for our patients. Our plans will radically overhaul the way we use IT across our hospitals and the benefits are wide reaching, including speeding up the time we are able to see and treat our patients. It will also make sure our systems are as secure as they possibly can be and, importantly, make life a lot easier for our staff."
Lisa Emery, Trust chief information officer said: "Staff need access to the most up-to-date patient information, which will be delivered by using the latest technology, including mobile devices. It will deliver real benefits for our patients."
Calum Macleod, vice president of healthcare for CGI in the UK said: "CGI is very excited to bring our experience of helping to modernize the delivery of healthcare to Watford, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead hospitals. We look forward to working with the Trust to support its vision of providing consistently good care to its patients."
About West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust
West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust is a large acute trust serving people from across Hertfordshire, north London and further afield. The Trust is made up of Watford, St Albans and Hemel Hempstead hospitals and sees about 600,000 patients a year. The Trust is one of the largest employers locally, with around 4,500 staff and volunteers.
About CGI
Founded in 1976, CGI Group Inc. is the fifth largest independent information technology and business process services firm in the world. Approximately 68,000 professionals serve thousands of global clients from offices and delivery centers across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, leveraging a comprehensive portfolio of services including high-end business and IT consulting, systems integration, application development and maintenance, infrastructure management as well as a wide range of proprietary solutions. With annual revenue in excess of C$10 billion and an order backlog of approximately C$19 billion, CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB). Website: www.cgi.com .
Forward-Looking Statements
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