WELSH water company Hyder has bought the consortium handling Oxfordshire's computer health records in a multi-million pound deal.

The former computer centre of the Anglia and Oxford Regional Health Authority, based at the Churchill Hospital, Oxford, was taken over by US-based Computer Sciences Corporation in 1995 and renamed the Oxford Consortium.

In 1995 the centre employed about 200. Now, 58 staff provide computing and consultancy to administer patients' records and finance for 37 health trusts in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, and Northamptonshire .

It also provides IT consultancy to the NHS and runs the national breast screening system. Hyder, which already provides computer services for Welsh health trusts, says the takeover involves no redundancies.

Business development director John Jasper said: "We have great plans to invest in the Oxford Consortium and turn it into a centre of excellence in health service computed.

"We are delighted to be taking on all the current employees in Oxford."

Hyder, employing 9,000 people worldwide, is Wales's largest company and has interests in water, electricity, gas, renewable energy, and infrastructure. Both companies declined to say how much the takeover deal was worth. In 1995 the centre employed about 200 people. Since then the payroll arm has been sold off and there have been about 40 redundancies.

CSC has a £4bn annual turnover. It provides professional services worldwide.

A spokesman for CSC said: "Although Hyder's offer was not the highest it offered the best solution for the health trusts iand especially our staff in the region."

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