A new Integrated Care Centre has been developed by NHS Oldham in partnership with healthcare IT provider Computacenter.

The care centre will integrate the commissioning of healthcare services across primary, secondary and community care, including pharmacy and optician services.

The centre's IT infrastructure, designed and implemented by Computacenter, is expected to give clinicians easier access to medical applications and information, helping to optimise the use of resources.

Computacenter has also configured and installed 350 new desktops, and implemented a power and availability management solution that will enable NHS Oldham to reduce its energy costs.

Paul Lyons, Associate Director of Finance - Head of Information Management and Technology at NHS Oldham, said: "The Oldham Integrated Care Centre will bring together a range of frontline medical services in a purpose-built facility and feature the latest technologies to improve productivity and patient care.

"By making better use of information computer technology, we can maximise the time clinicians spend with patients, which will help improve patient outcomes and reduce waste, making the services operate more effectively."

Chris Price, Public Sector Director at Computacenter, said: "Cutting costs and spending more time with patients are ongoing challenges for primary care trusts, and it is important that these already stretched NHS services are given the right level of support and guidance on how IT can be used to meet these needs.

"The new Oldham Integrated Care Centre has been set up with technology at the core to drive efficient working practices, which in turn enables healthcare workers to dedicate more resource to serving the community."

Computacenter is a leading provider of IT infrastructure services, with offices in the UK and other European countries.