BT yesterday won a £530m contract to build and manage a broadband network for the high-speed transfer of patient data between NHS hospitals and surgeries.

Construction of the system is part of a £5bn national programme to modernise IT systems used by the health service. It will allow doctors to share large data files such as x-rays which the existing NHSnet cannot transfer because it operates on a lower bandwidth.

The deal with the Department of Health will last for seven years and integrate existing regional IT networks into a single system. It deepens ties between BT and the NHS as the health service seeks to upgrade crucial technology.

BT recently won a £620m contract to build the national patient record database in partnership with Oracle, Sun Microsystems and LogicaCMG.

The group won a £996m contract in December to design and operate a healthcare system in London.