BT to wire up and ‘futureproof’ thousands of Scottish NHS sites under £350m contract

The Scottish wide area network (SWAN) contract has been awarded by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS) on behalf of the Scottish Government. BT said it would “accelerate the digital transformation of Scotland’s public sector” including to some of the most rural areas across the country. It added that the deal would see 6,000 sites and 94 public sector organisations benefit from “significantly faster” and improved fibre broadband and mobile connections and resilience. The agreement, worth up to £350m over the next six years, sees BT become the sole provider to deliver public sector connectivity across Scotland.

Alan Lees, director for business, BT in Scotland, said: “BT is committed to playing its part in helping to shape and to deliver transformational public sector services for people across Scotland now and into the future. We strongly believe in the difference that highly resilient and secure connectivity can make to the delivery of public services in Scotland and with our expertise and investment we can accelerate the digital transformation of services to the public. This contract will see us deliver a cost effective and innovative communications framework, which will benefit public sector employees, citizens and services in ways that we have not seen before.”

With 22 NHS Scotland boards, 278 general and community hospitals and more than 900 GP practices set to be connected to the network, BT’s investment in the wide area network will support essential public health services – reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of connected organisations, the telecoms giant added.

Mary Morgan, chief executive of NHS National Services Scotland, said: “This is a significant milestone for NSS, and for the many partner organisations across the public sector who depend upon SWAN, including NHS Scotland. Swift and secure connectivity is at the heart of modern future-facing public services. We are pleased to have secured this long-term partnership with BT in Scotland. NSS will continue to manage the SWAN Network effectively on behalf of its members so that together we can deliver for all citizens and stakeholders.” The Scotsman