As the UK’s coronavirus response evolved, hospitals up and down the country turned to manufacturers and medtech companies to help meet the demand for protective equipment and innovative technologies.
And Royal United Hospitals (RUH) Bath was one of these.
When the pandemic hit, the hospital had just opened a new intensive care unit, expanding capacity from 14 beds to 27.
However, there was a problem as it was apparent that some new workers and volunteers drafted in to ease the pressure on frontline staff were having difficulty finding their way around an unfamiliar city easily.
Joanna Wright, a Liberal Democrat councillor on Bath and North East Somerset Council, said: “There was an urgent need to make sure these critical workers had access to clear directions.”
So Living Map undertook a pro-bono project to deliver a digital map of Bath and the RUH for essential healthcare workers.
Cycle shops and resources that have made services available to healthcare workers are highlighted and hospital entrances and hospital campus details are defined with a much-higher level of fidelity than that of Google or Apple Maps. In addition, routes can be pre-generated and shared to help workers plan their commute.
Living Map is now exploring additional uses with the hospital to leverage its indoor and outdoor mapping and positioning capabilities to keep the Bath community and keyworkers informed of changes to traffic flow, congestion and pedestrian zones, and to help promote businesses as the city restarts.
“We are delighted to be supporting RUH Bath and the local community, with our digital services”, said Dominic Hazlehurst, chief executive of Living Map.
“We are able to help with several practical problems of visualising the locality while directing the footfall of different user groups and visitors and we look forward to building on the relationship in the coming months.”