Siemens’ work is part of the wider £1 billion building of the new hospitals at Barts (St Bartholomew’s) Smithfield and The Royal London’s Whitechapel sites by Skanska Innisfree, due for final completion in 2016. The two new hospitals will provide state-of-the-art care facilities covering 1,200 beds, boosting the Trust’s capabilities across its three hospitals.¹ The Trust already has a world-wide reputation for excellence, Barts in cancer and cardiac care and The Royal London in acute services.
The first phase Enterasys fixed and wireless LAN hardware and software infrastructure, will support 24/7 clinical and corporate IT services. The platform will enable delivery and uploading of critical information at the point of care, whether using diagnostic equipment used wirelessly at the patient’s bedside or through devices plugged into the trust’s main IT network. These capabilities will give clinical and support staff far greater operational flexibility than existing cable-based IT systems. The integrated LAN will also enable information to be captured and added to patients’ records digitally, without the use of paper notes or separate manual data entry.
In addition, the new communications network will enable improved inter-departmental information sharing, reduced operational costs, and streamlined patient administration. The new Siemens LAN also paves the way for future improvements such as tagging of supplies and equipment for asset management.
As a prime contractor to the trust, Siemens Enterprise Communications and its Enterasys Networks division will work with Netconnection Systems to design and implement the new IT architecture as well as advising on future system innovations that will support and enhance patient care over the next few years.
After a full tendering process, Barts and The London’s NHS Trust’s IT directorate selected Siemens because of the tender’s competitive costing, the company’s strong track record in public sector communications infrastructure delivery and the operational strengths of its Enterasys network infrastructure product range.
Doug Howe, Deputy Director, ICT, Barts and The London NHS Trust, said “Siemens will provide a secure and flexible LAN communications infrastructure with the required secure 24/7 information access and ‘five nines’ system reliability. The company has a good R&D track record and experience and is therefore a strong partner to help us develop a road map for technology adoption as the new hospital building work progresses which will support our standards of clinical excellence.”
He said: “It’s an exciting time because we are building on the Trust hospitals’ world-wide reputation for clinical excellence with secure IT and communications which will provide us with wide scope for future innovations.”
Andy Clark, head of public sector, Siemens Enterprise Communications, said: “We’re delighted to be delivering an integrated voice and data network for an acknowledged world leader in medicine whose two new hospitals will be purpose-built to maintain 21st century standards of clinical excellence. It’s a signature project for us, but particularly exciting because it prepares the platform for the trust to build in and gain the long term benefits from unified communications. These will include potential innovations in real time diagnosis, mobile working and streamlined operations.”