LONDON — Oct. 4, 2001 — Novell, a leader in eBusiness solutions and Net services software, today announced that its customer, Peter Kidd, Head of IT for Pinderfields & Ponterfract NHS Hospitals Trust, was named IT Professional of the Year by Computing magazine at last night’s Computing Awards for Excellence. Pinderfields & Pontefract Hospitals’ innovative IT developments and Kidd’s people management abilities were highlighted as winning qualities at the award presentation held at London’s prestigious Grosvenor House Hotel.
“Receiving this award is an inspiring experience,” said Peter Kidd. “It is a major achievement, not only for myself, but also for the whole team. The staff at the Trust and at Novell have all contributed to winning this award.”
Newcastle United Football Club’s Learning Centre, another extensive user of Novell technology, was highly commended in the Comm.unity award in recognition of the project’s positive impact in bridging the digital divide to the benefit of the community.
“We are delighted that our customers have been acclaimed as leaders in the IT industry,” said Steve Brown, Regional Director, Novell® UK, Middle East and Africa. “Technology is now recognised as a key business enabler in the commercial world. However, what these awards demonstrate is that Public sector organisations are successfully embracing innovative technologies to drive greater business efficiencies and improve service delivery for the benefit of the general public.”
Using Novell Net Services software, Pinderfields & Pontefract Hospital’s Peter Kidd has dramatically changed the role of IT within the Trust, making it one of the first NHS trusts to deliver all the key components of the Electronic Patient Record initiative. In addition, Kidd’s decision to implement flexible, Internet-enabled systems based on Novell Net services software has accelerated the Trust’s ability to deliver value-added services to its staff and patients, including an online referral system that allows General Practitioners to book routine surgical operations for their patients online.
Newcastle United Football Club has also utilised Novell Net Services software to run its purpose-built Learning Centre at St James Park, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, one of Europe’s largest community education projects. The Centre provides e-learning facilities 7 days a week, improving literacy, numeracy and IT skills for 1,000 children and 1,000 adults every week.
Press Contact:
JoAnne Hughes
Novell UK
Phone: 01344 724312
E-mail: jahughes@novell.com
