Blackpool upgrades infrastructure

Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has signed a five year deal with BT to upgrade its IT communications infrastructure.

The upgrade at the trust’s main Victoria Hospital site will include the roll out of an Internet Protocol based telephone system and a complete computer network upgrade to support the new infrastructure.

The system will be wireless and Radio-Frequency Identification enabled. Frederick Wills, the trust’s IT communications manager, said this would allow it to support “a whole range of new technologies”, with location finding, collaboration, presence and patient tracking on top of the agenda.

“With more than 100,000 day case and inpatient admissions, 250,000 outpatients and more than 91,000 accident and emergency patients every year, our time is precious,” he said. “The new IT communications infrastructure has been designed to maximise the resources we have and to improve the way we look after these patients.

“High 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, vastly improving technology.”

The trust is also looking at BT’s Wireless Patient Tracking solution, which links data to patients, reducing medical and prescription errors.

Alastair Hamilton, BT Health sales director, said: “Blackpool, Fylde and Wyre Hospitals NHS Foundation trust is investing in a network that will give it access to several new services and solutions, designed to improve operational efficiency.”

Link: BT