Australian health IT specialist iSOFT has signed two deals in the UK totaling A$8 million for a hospital system and an e-commerce and logistics hosting application.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in the South of England, one of the country's largest mental health trusts, chose to continue using iSOFT's Patient Management (formerly i.Patient Manager) solution in a deal that includes an option to become an early adopter of Lorenzo within six months. The agreement includes an initial license fee for the latest version of iSOFT Patient Management, and support services for up to five years.

"It was a natural decision to continue using a system that everyone is familiar with and we all trust," said Jane Rennie, the trust's Director of Information Management and Technology. "We have an advanced set of functionality we use, and want to maintain the momentum by proactively developing our trust IT strategy. iSOFT has a clear product development pathway with Lorenzo being the natural progression."

Adrian Stevens, Managing Director of iSOFT's UK and Ireland business, said: "It is very gratifying that one of the most highly regarded mental health specialist trusts in England is looking to start its Lorenzo journey by contracting directly with iSOFT. This is testimony to our ability to deliver solutions that meet customer expectations and a strategy for future needs. The move is aligned with our strategy of providing a clear migration path to our customers in the south of England from existing, proven solutions to Lorenzo."

iSOFT also signed an agreement with NHS Supply Chain to refresh hardware and host e-commerce and logistics applications for a further three years.

The agreement extends the original 2008 contract with NHS Supply Chain by a further three years to December 2013, and also includes an initial GBP1.5 million (A$2.5 million) payment for new HP hardware to improve performance and resilience.

iSOFT has partnered with NHS Supply Chain for 12 years, providing a fully hosted managed service and a dual data centre operation. Operated by DHL, NHS Supply Chain manages more than four million NHS orders a year, delivering equipment and supplies to hospitals and GP surgeries from six regional distribution centres.