Credit: Pxhere

NHS Digital has picked four firms to help support a multimillion-pound programme of “rapid response” to the coronavirus pandemic.

The agency, which supports the use of digital services and IT across the health service, awarded a series of deals last month. The four, which are cumulatively worth £8m, all came into effect within a few days of each between 8 and 11 December.

The value of each is estimated as £2m and they last for between a year and 19 months.

The longest contract was awarded to Answer Digital, a specialist supplier based in NHS Digital’s home city of Leeds. This deal ends on 30 June 2022.

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Running until 31 May 2022 is an engagement with Belfast-headquartered firm Kainos.

Two other digital-transformation firms will each work with NHS until December 2021: Bristolian online user-experience company Nomensa; and Hippo Digital – which is also based in Leeds.

Extremely little detail is provided as to the services that will be delivered, but all four contracts bear an identical header: “Covid-19 rapid response digital delivery”.

Since the start of the pandemic, NHS Digital has played in key role in designing new online services – such as ‘isolation notes’ for employees – keeping websites updated with information, and supporting the flow of information around the health service, including leading the process of providing GPs surgeries with testing data.