Wexham Park Hospital
Case Study
Wexham Park Hospital
Wexham, Slough
Flexibility, ease of use and added value for the management team
This case study perfectly demonstrates how the flexibility that comes with a wireless nurse call system can help patient services adapt to change quickly and easily. This is essential for a capital investment programme that must take account of future needs and to provide complete support for managers, front-line carers and patients.
Wexham Park Hospital near Slough had historically relied on multiple systems across its estate, including a mix of hardwired and wireless products. It was becoming increasingly difficult to access replacement parts for some of the older systems in the hospital and, in the longer term, it was likely to prove problematic for its in-house maintenance teams to manage repairs.
So, the hospital made a strategic decision to move towards a single system supply as part of its upgrade and replacement projects. Continuity of supplier was very important to the Estates team when considering which system to specify, but flexibility was critical to the success of the upgrade project.
“Any capital investment programme must consider future needs to ensure that the true whole life costs are assessed as part of long-term planning,” commented a Wexham Park Hospital spokesperson. “Our investment in a new, hospital-wide nurse call system is part of an ongoing plan, but the aim is to install a system that will grow and adapt with the hospital well beyond that period while providing a system that is easy to operate for both staff and patients and adds value to the management team with up-to-date and easy to access data.”
"Any capital investment programme must consider future needs... the aim is to install a system that will grow and adapt with the hospital."
A rolling programme of nurse call improvements and standardisation
The hospital was keen to adopt a wireless system and, following a tender process, Courtney Thorne’s 08 wireless nurse call system was selected for the hospital’s Paragon Suite and A&E department. It has since been installed into 19 wards and departments over the past 11 years, including the extended A&E department, delivering a rolling programme of nurse call improvements and standardisation.
John Polhill from Courtney Thorne explained: “One of the key requirements that prompted Wexham Park to specify a wireless system was the need to create escalation areas and adapt certain areas of the hospital for winter pressure patient management.
“The Courtney Thorne 08 wireless nurse call provides this flexibility and means the hospital has a system that can be reprogrammed quickly and easily for temporary adjustments to hospital layout as well as for permanent changes.”
The wireless system has given Wexham Park flexibility both during and after installation. The fact that the wireless installation can be completed in just a few days and at a late stage in a ward refurbishment means last-minute changes to layout can be accommodated easily. For example, while decisions about the site of any electrical sockets needed to be made at first fix, installation and programming of the nurse call system could be done after second fix.
12 more wards will be upgraded with the new solution at Wexham Park Hospital and will be completed within the five-year plan. From there, any further changes will simply involve reprogramming the existing system to adapt to the new layout.
