949,470 NHS Employees Over 476 Trusts Now Live On Esr

- By April 2008 1.2 million NHS staff will be using the Worlds largest integrated HR and Payroll system: NHS Electronic Staff Record empowered by McKesson -

6th August 2007: The Worlds largest integrated HR & Payroll system " the NHS Electronic Staff Record (ESR) " now has 476 organisations with 949,470 NHS employees ˜live on the system successfully being paid by ESR, marking wave nine of twelve in the implementation and roll-out of the on time and on budget project.

Every other month approximately 50 new Trusts go live on ESR, and over the next 8 months, the remaining three waves containing 144 NHS organisations will go live on ESR. When complete in spring 2008, all 1.2 million NHS employees - over 7% of the working population in England and Wales " will be paid on ESR, which is being delivered by healthcare IT systems specialist McKesson.

ESR is part of a programme of change and innovation within the NHS " the NHS Improvement Plan - and is designed to transform the way in which the NHS delivers both HR and Payroll services to its employees. In doing so, McKesson is helping to improve the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the NHS. The project is expected to deliver benefits at both national and local levels to include supporting strategic planning and the devolution of responsibilities to local, front line organisations as well as employee specific benefits including improved payroll information, appraisal and training provision.

Until recently, the UKs 620 Trusts had been operating with 67 disparate HR and payroll systems each of which record workforce data in a slightly different way. Many Trusts have different rates of pay and procedures for overtime pay and more than 10% of the workforce move between Trusts each year, making it very difficult to accurately track. This lack of streamlined operation was resulting in payroll inaccuracies, out of date HR information and general duplication and inefficiencies due to the required manual re-keying of data. The situation was also preventing the NHS from having clear management information on its workforce and their available skills, hindering effective strategic & operational planning and decision making.

McKesson is now over three quarters of the way through replacing these disparate legacy systems with an integrated Oracle Human Resources and Payroll system. The new system presents the NHS, for the first time, with a solution that integrates both HR and Payroll systems nationally, affording a clear view of its workforce. This will enable the early identification of skills shortages or gaps, which could drive potential recruitment campaigns and the reallocation of administrative staff into more strategic roles, thereby improving the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the NHS. The ESR solution will also allow for substantial time savings through the reduction in the amount of input entries, together with significant cost savings resulting from the closer monitoring by managers of staff absenteeism.

Simon Willcock, ESR Programme Director comments, The Electronic Staff Record is an integral part of the wider and ambitious initiative to modernise the NHS.

Simon Willcock continues, Until recently, we had no consistent way of collecting and monitoring employee information and were relying on resource intensive fragmented systems " leading to duplication, inconsistency and error, as well as a critical lack of management information. ESR is helping us to change that situation and provide better services to the NHS employees and " in doing so - the British public.

The education approach developed for ESR also incorporates an e-learning system, designed to teach NHS employees how to get the most value from the system, thereby minimising the amount of training time healthcare practitioners would otherwise require. Moving forward, the system will also provide the 1.2 million NHS employees with self-service access to the system, empowering them to update their own records with change of name or address details; thereby eradicating inconsistency and duplication or error. Integration with new e-recruitment and Pensions Agency applications will provide further employee benefits and ensure that the NHS meets it objective of becoming a model UK employer.

Commissioned by the Department of Health, the 15 year, £300+ million project is being delivered by a McKesson led partner consortium, which includes Oracle and IBM. McKesson was chosen to spearhead the system development and integration largely due to its vast experience in providing IT systems into the NHS. Working with over 90% of NHS trusts, McKesson was able to put in place a high calibre team with an in-depth understanding of the nuances of providing technology systems into the healthcare industry.

A key function of the consortium, and the key to the success of the project to date, has been the ability of these technology partners to work together to deliver a comprehensive solution that was able to incorporate the different requirements and various stages of automation in place within the trusts. Critically, the NHS and McKesson have been able to deliver ESR while ensuring that the trusts saw no decline in their ability to deliver healthcare services.

Charmaine McDonald, Managing Director of McKesson UK explains, We have had a dedicated team in place that consisted of both NHS and McKesson representatives to ensure that the project was delivered as seamlessly as possible. The positive rapport and high level of expertise within the different teams has been a critical factor in the successful delivery of the project to date.

476 trusts are currently live on ESR, including the three initial pilot sites of Kings Lynn, Newham Health and North East Wales NHS Trusts. A recent OGC (Office of Government Commerce) review found that, The project is on course for a Green [status]. There is every prospect that national roll-out will be completed as planned.

Charmaine McDonald concludes, The ESR project is an ideal opportunity to increase the efficiency of the NHS and concurrently its service provision. As healthcare specialists, McKesson has been able to work with a team of partners and people to develop a system that fits the nuances of the industry. The ESR project has benefited immensely from the close working relationship between McKesson and the NHS, quite literally in terms of adjacent offices! It is testament to the hard work of all involved that we can now move forward together to provide significant benefits to the NHS, the Trusts, and 1.2 million healthcare professionals across England and Wales.

Notes to Editors:

ESR benefits include:

A national level, strategic workforce information system to help NHS deliver consistent and accurate payments to healthcare professionals

Accurate workforce information to track recruitment progress and capacity planning in light of a 3.6% annual increase in employee numbers

Streamlined end-to-end processes enabling a refocus and restructuring of HR & Payroll functions to meet local needs

Reduced duplication in employee data, helping NHS back office workforce to concentrate on value-add transformational work

E-recruitment and future Pensions Agency system integration; appraisal and personal development plan reporting and training provision to transform the NHS into a model employer and provider of public services

- ENDS -

About McKesson

Over 90% of NHS Trusts use McKesson's IT services or products

McKesson is committed to addressing the changing requirements of its customers, by delivering patient care, business and workforce IT solutions. Underpinned by essential IT managed services and shared services for HR and Payroll, McKessons solutions and services are designed to make a difference to the business and quality of healthcare whilst driving down cost.

McKesson has operated in the UK for more than 17 years with a dedicated workforce delivering to virtually every NHS organisation as well as to a number of other public and private sector organisations. As guardians of the worlds largest integrated HR and Payroll system " ESR, McKesson is delivering this solution on time and on budget to 7% of the working population in England and Wales, a workforce of more than1.2 million NHS employees.

McKessons healthcare pedigree dates back to 1833 when it was founded in the USA. Today, recognised as THE worlds leading healthcare services provider and employing 30,000 people across the world, McKesson is ranked 18 in the Fortune 500 with revenues in excess of $90 Billion. Globally, McKesson provides information technology, health services, pharmaceuticals, and disease management solutions to support healthcare delivery in a number of countries. Everyday thousands of healthcare organisations, including 5,000 hospitals, 35,000 practices and 25,000 retail pharmacies, rely on McKessons supply management and information solutions to help deliver better, safer care while reducing unnecessary costs.

For further information, please contact:

Krista Cundy/Laura Munns

The itpr Partnership

Tel. +44 (0)1932 57 88 00

Fax. +44 (0)1932 57 88 01

Email: kristac@itpr.co.uk

www.itpr.co.uk

Laura Steward

McKesson

Tel. +44 (0)870 6000 426

Fax: +44 (0)1926 475 444

Email: laura.steward@McKesson.co.uk

www.McKesson.co.uk