Terminology Server

Concepts

• belfast
• standardised terminologies
• terminology content
• terminology releases
• terminology server
• terminology
• server
• terminologies
• system integration
• social care northern ireland

Location

Description

The procurement is for a centrally hosted Terminology Server solution to support the management and distribution of clinical and administrative coding systems (e.g. SNOMED CT, ICD-11, OPCS) across Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI). The solution will be cloud-based, delivered as a managed service, and accessible to clinical and operational systems in real-time or via scheduled synchronisation. ​​​​​​​Accurate and governed use of standardised terminologies is essential to ensure patient safety, clinical interoperability, compliance with data standards, and quality health analytics. HSCNI currently lacks a unified mechanism to manage terminology content, resulting in duplication of effort, local variations, and missed opportunities for system integration. A central Terminology Server will enable HSCNI to safely manage terminology releases, ensure consistency across systems, and support transition to national standards such as ICD-11 and SNOMED CT. It is our intention to complete a Direct Award to the value of £780,000.00 (exclusive of vat).

Award Detail

CPV Codes

• None found

Legal Justification

The procurement is for a centrally hosted Terminology Server solution to support the management and distribution of clinical and administrative coding systems (e.g. SNOMED CT, ICD-11, OPCS) across Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI). The solution will be cloud-based, delivered as a managed service, and accessible to clinical and operational systems in real-time or via scheduled synchronisation. Dedalus is the only supplier with a proven, national-scale Terminology Server solution (Ontoserver) currently deployed and operational across the UK and Ireland. It supports terminology infrastructure for: NHS England, covering SNOMED CT, dm+d and national content distribution; NHS Scotland, aligned to their national digital strategy; HSE Ireland, selected following open competition in 2025. Dedalus was previously the sole supplier on the now-expired NHS England terminology server framework, and whilst it is expected that they will succeed in the renewal framework, given the timing of this procurement, no active framework is available.​​ We wish to rely on schedule 5 section 6 (a) due to Dedalus being the only supplier for technical reasons. They are the only supplier able to provide the services.

Other Information

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