ALL LABS THAT REPORT DATA TO GPs USING PMIP SHOULD TAKE NOTE OF THIS.

PMIP Reporting systems use the DTS service. If you are responsible for this service then upgrading to the latest client is advised. Please draw this to the attention of your IT support staff and/or PMIP supplier.
Spine Data Transfer Service – Disaster Recovery

I am pleased to announce that plans are very well advanced in respect of the deployment of the Disaster Recovery solution for DTS. The service is expected to go-live as planned at the end of December 2011. Only sites that have deployed the latest version of the DTS Client, version 5, which was released in September 2011 will be able to utilise the DR capability. Other currently deployed versions of the DTS Client (version 3 and 4) will continue to operate but do not support the DR capability. For this reason NHS Connecting For Health strongly advise that all DTS Client deployments should move to version 5.

Part of the deployment plan requires that we test the solution to ensure that it is fit for purpose. With this in mind a full test of the solution is planned for Wednesday 14th December 2011 at 12:00 noon.  This will mean that a managed closure of the primary DTS service will take place at this time. The DR Service will then be active for approximately 1 hour, after which a controlled switch back to the primary DTS Service will be undertaken. A contingency of 2 hours is included in the plans should we experience any issues during this test.

The impacts on end users will be that only version 5 DTS Clients will continue to operate as usual i.e. post and collect messages. Any other DTS Clients will not be able to access a DTS Service during this period. As this is a controlled process NO messages will be lost but users may experience a break in service and a delay in message delivery processes. Apologies in advance if this causes any operational issues but hopefully you understand the importance of this test in ensuring that we deliver a viable solution. The test does avoid the busiest day for the Service (Thursday) and although the test is being undertaken during the day we have tried to avoid the peak traffic periods. Hopefully this advance notice will allow you to mitigate risks locally should they be identified.

Assuming the testing is successful I expect that the DR service will go-live as planned at the end of December. As previously stated users will have to have a DTS Client version 5 deployed in order to make use of the DR Capability. We have spoken to suppliers and they are aware of the these plans and the requirement to deploy the latest version of the DTS Client. GP suppliers are required to deploy the latest version of the client within 6 months of release. Other suppliers are working broadly to the same timescales.

NHS sites that are not covered by supplier support arrangements and are responsible for their own DTS Client deployments will need to ensure that they upgrade their DTS clients as soon as possible.  The latest software and release notes are available for download from http://nww.nhsmessaging.co.uk/goto_DTShome.html and local IT departments should be able to manage the upgrade locally. If further assistance is required NHS Organisations should contact the DTS Service Team by raising a call on the Exeter helpdesk  via telephone on 01392 251289 or via email at [log in to unmask]<mailto:[log in to unmask]> . Support in this instance will be provided on a best endeavours basis.

Simon Richards
DTS Service Delivery Manager
Systems and Service Delivery
NHS Connecting For Health

www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk<http://www.connectingforhealth.nhs.uk>

NHS Connecting for Health supports the NHS in providing better, safer care by delivering computer systems and services which improve the way patient information is stored and accessed