BT Cornwall have lost the court case to retain their contract
with Cornwall Council and the parting of the ways will now
commence.
It is disappointing that Cornwall Council and BT have
failed to make the BT Cornwall
partnership work.
The main reasons for creating the partnership were to facilitate
the integration of IT departments with the Royal
Cornwall Hospital Trust (RCHT Treliske) and to provide the
capacity to handle a number of large IT projects (such as the
conversion to Windows 7). The provision of Telehealth and
Telecare services in Cornwall were also a big part of the deal as
was the expectant creation of significant numbers of jobs.
The alternative considered (and rejected) was to bring in
external
consultants at a multi million pound cost to assist the Council
with
these projects.
RCHT pulled out of the BT
deal at the last minute and this decision now gives the Council
and
RCHT the opportunity to consider their options afresh. It will
be an essential
component of the business case currently being written to
integrate
health and adult social care.
We have been urging the Council to prepare a Plan B for life
after
BT but we have seen no evidence of this so far.
The resultant return of staff to Cornwall Council and the
unravelling of the partnership will result in significant cost
which are unlikely to be fully recovered from BT Cornwall. That
burden will again fall on the Cornish taxpayer.
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