The large-scale project – being carried out by South West Communications Group – is based on Alcatel-Lucent’s IP telephony platform, and aims to modernise North Bristol NHS Trust’s patient services in line with the NHS’s national transformational programme of change. The two million GBP investment will also provide an advanced communications infrastructure for a new ‘super hospital’ in Bristol, scheduled for completion in 2013.
“Communication is vital to healthcare organisations - from crash call access to first point of patient contact, staff must communicate effectively and rapidly regardless of their location, which had previously been a challenge for a trust of our size,” said Martin Bell, director of information management and technology at North Bristol NHS Trust. “The new solution will allow us to provide mobile and responsive communications, both internally and to the community at large. Equally, as the Trust extends and we prepare for the opening of the new super hospital, this future-proof, robust platform will support our growth and enable the continued evolution of our patient services.”
North Bristol NHS Trust chose Alcatel-Lucent based on its commitment to innovation, particularly through the work of its Bell Labs R&D organisation. The deployment includes innovative speech-enabled automated directory technology alongside advanced call centre and unified communications applications. These tools will help improve collaboration between 9,000 staff across all Trust sites. Furthermore, both staff and patients will be able to interact more closely through patient paging services and multiparty video conferencing.
In addition, 600 employees will be equipped with Alcatel-Lucent’s OmniTouch 8600 My Instant Communicator unified communications solution, giving them access to voice mail, text messages, faxes, emails, instant messaging, voice and video conferences all from a single mobile device. This will help the Trust to boost productivity, reduce travel and costs, while ensuring staff have the tools they need to deliver the best possible service to patients at all times.
South West Communications Group was chosen to undertake the deployment based on its extensive experience in the UK healthcare sector and its ability to commit to and deliver upon long-term strategic projects. The first component of the North Bristol NHS Trust deployment is now up and running, while South West Communications Group will be responsible for ongoing service and support through 2013 and beyond.
“Ensuring staff productivity and accessibility has always proved challenging for healthcare organisations, given the ever-mobile nature of their day-to-day operations,” said David Parker, vice president for Alcatel-Lucent’s enterprise activities in the UK and Ireland. “By utilising our technologies, North Bristol NHS Trust is becoming a more dynamic enterprise, using communications to achieve transformational change in line with the UK government’s NHS vision.”