COMMUNICATIONS firm BT has won contracts worth more than £1.5bn to supply patient record systems to the National Health Service.

The telecoms group said the Department of Health had awarded it a ten-year, £996m deal to design, deliver and operate integrated local systems for the London care community.

It has also won a £620m contract to design and manage a national patient record database and messaging service.

Last month, BT said a six per cent reduction in turnover from its traditional fixed line business had more than offset strong growth in its new wave operations such as broadband.

The group is planning to save more than £1bn in the next three years, but has agreed with unions not to use compulsory redundancies to cut costs.

But weekend Press reports said BT, which employs about 100,000, was planning to improve its voluntary redundancy packages in a bid to reduce its headcount.

The contracts are part of a national programme to improve patient record keeping, which will enable the health service to record and exchange patient information electronically without duplicating files.