Netcompany claims NHS contract to help digitise screening
Denmark's Netcompany has been awarded a five-year contract from NHS England, worth more than £215 million, to build the digital infrastructure underpinning adult screening programmes.
The agreement covers all seven national adult screening programmes, including breast, cervical, and bowel cancers, which collectively lead to around 15 million invitations to take part each year and saves thousands of lives.
In a statement, Netcompany said the services will form a central part of the NHS Digital Prevention Services Programme (DPSP) and be instrumental in the government's ambition to shift the health service from treatment to prevention, as laid out in the current NHS 10-Year Plan.
The objective is to deliver "earlier diagnosis and faster treatment," according to the company, which will run and enhance the digital services behind the existing screening pathways while building the next generation. That will include a new national breast screening service and an enhanced cervical screening service that invites people digitally and offers them an HPV self-testing kit at home.
The upgraded screening infrastructure is designed to find more disease earlier, shorten the time between an invitation and a result, and make it easier for people to take part, according to Netcompany.
It also stressed that the services will be "sovereign and NHS-owned: built in the UK and controlled by the NHS." Additionally, the contract includes a commitment to use an ecosystem of UK partners, with 33% of contract revenues committed to small and medium-sized businesses.
There is considerable debate in the UK at the moment about the prominent role being played in the digitalisation of the NHS by controversial US tech firm Palantir, which manages a £330 million, seven-year contract with NHS England to run the Federated Data Platform (FDP).
There have been calls by patient, healthcare, worker, trade union, and consumer rights groups, as well as MPs, for that contract to be cancelled when it expires next February.
Netcompany already has a track record of working successfully with the NHS, having previously delivered a national online GP registration service, used by millions of patients and adopted by 99% of surgeries in England.
"We are taking on one of the most ambitious digital programmes in the UK healthcare sector, further strengthening Netcompany's position as a key public‑sector partner," said André Rogaczewski, the company's co‑founder and chief executive.
"Screening saves lives, and the digital systems that support this programme have a decisive impact on millions of citizens," he added. "Our role is to build modern, secure, and data‑driven solutions that ensure screening is fast, effective, and targeted."
