Royal Liverpool University Hospital technology transformation takes shape
Partnership expands network infrastructure at new £335m development
Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS has embarked on an entire re-purpose, refresh and expansion of its current network infrastructure in partnership with cloud services provider, ANS Group.
For more than 150 years, Royal Liverpool Hospital has been pioneering healthcare innovations at the heart of Liverpool and a new £335m development is set to replace outdated facilities with a world-class, modern care environment aimed at transforming the way that patient care is delivered.
The project comes following the Government’s recent announcement to invest in the use of digital technology across the NHS, focusing on 12 trusts that have been chosen to pioneer best practice, of which Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen Hospital Trust is one.
As part of the expansion, ANS will transform the networking capabilities and underpin the delivery of IT services at the trust’s landmark Royal Liverpool University Hospital new-build project.
The chosen network architecture utilises Cisco technology to provide a foundation for the digital hospital environment.
David Walliker, director of IT at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust and Liverpool Women's NHS Foundation Trust, said: “Our original aim was to create a medical-grade network designed with continuous operations to reduce clinical risk while improving the patient experience through new healthcare and IT service initiatives. We’ve now set the foundation to exceed all of our expectations.
“ANS’s design will allow the IT department to be seen as an enabler to change.
“It will enable us to deliver on our vision to provide a framework of electronic products, processes and systems that come together as part of our innovative five-year IT strategy and will result in the trust being technologically enabled, innovative, modern and electronic.”
He added: “At the new Royal we aim to provide a reliable connected environment that patients and staff expect in their homes and in everyday life.
The decisions we will now be able to make will help to improve the quality of life for our patients by providing exceptional, safe and accessible healthcare, which puts patients’ wellbeing at the heart of everything we do and enables us to continue to play a lead role in the development of a sustainable health system for the communities we serve
“A robust networking infrastructure will allow us to provide secure, fast and ‘always on’ connectivity to patients so they can communicate with family, friends and work colleagues throughout their stay, in addition to providing public health messages and guidance throughout the hospital using digital signage.
“Fundamentally, the new network will deliver the foundation for the new Liverpool Health Campus for improved patient outcomes and operational efficiency by connecting more ‘things’ onto the network.
“This will result in an increase in the amount of available information across the trust for better decision-making and support.
“The decisions we will now be able to make will help to improve the quality of life for our patients by providing exceptional, safe and accessible healthcare, which puts patients’ wellbeing at the heart of everything we do and enables us to continue to play a lead role in the development of a sustainable health system for the communities we serve.”
The new Royal aims to create a completely different kind of hospital at the heart of a radically-renewed and improved local health service.
The world-class hospital will offer one of the best hospital environments in the country, complete with a comprehensive cancer centre.
Paul Sweeney, chief executive at ANS, said: “Across every sector we are seeing a demand for cloud-enabled networks.
“Networks need to be cloud and mobile ready and encompass the speed and agility required while enforcing the enterprise security framework protecting corporate data. To achieve this we utilise next-generation networking technologies such as software-defined networking and software-defined WAN.
“These technologies allow our customers to change and adapt much faster to business requirements, allowing their users to be more productive and their content-rich applications to be available securely on any chosen device, in any location.”