BT to deploy wireless network at Blackpool NHS Trust
Published:18-December-2008
By Bhavana Navuluri
To improve staff communication
Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has selected BT to provide a wireless network that will help the staff access vital information from anywhere at anytime.
Under the five-year agreement, BT will roll out an IP-based telephone system, deploy a full wireless access point and upgrade the network to support the new infrastructure at the main Victoria Hospital site.
The RFID-enabled network provides the NHS Trust access to data and tracking technologies such as BT's Wireless Patient Tracking system. This means that the staff can connect data to the respective patient, avoiding any errors in reports.
The NHS Trust runs six hospitals and a number of other healthcare sites. It serves more than 100,000 day-case and inpatient admissions, 250,000 outpatients and over 91,000 A&E patients every year.
Frederick Wills, IT communications manager for Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The new infrastructure will support a whole range of new technologies, designed to help us work better. High up on the list is to look at location finding, collaboration and presence technologies. This will allow doctors, nurses and other NHS staff to locate, communicate and share information with each other instantly.”
As well as the NHS contract, BT has signed a major IT and communications outsourcing contract with metering systems manufacturer Elster Group in December. The eight-year contract is valued at E100 million. BT will provide data centres, WAN, desktop support, user help desk and other IT services to the German manufacturer across 38 countries.
