COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY
Key considerations for wire-free systems in focus
Dave Hewitt, Sales & Marketing director at Courtney Thorne, looks at some of the key benefits of wire-free communications technology – now very much an accepted norm in healthcare settings, but warns potential purchasers of wire-free systems to ensure that what they are looking at buying is fit for purpose, and will perform ‘as specified’ – for example without interfering with adjacent equipment’s operation – in a real- world setting.
The world is for ever moving away from fixed infrastructures to wire-free solutions for passing data, and the more reliable these wire-free networks become, the more suitable they are for critical data communications. Take any typical working day, and – for most of us – crucial aspects of our daily lives are reliant on the data we receive over wire-free networks. Our mobile phones are the obvious link we have for most of the information we rely on – as we check the weather forecast, get alerts on transport delays, and get the news, messages from friends and family, work communications, and reports. All these are available to us before we even leave the house. As we then leave our homes and venture
onto public transport or drive to work, our links with the data sources we rely on don’t stop. Wire-free data connections tell us when the next bus will arrive, where there are traffic hold-ups, and even switch traffic lights to optimise traffic flow. At no point throughout any 24-hour period are we not benefiting from some form of wire-free data communication; even when we are fast asleep smart meters are sending data
about our gas and electricity usage, our mobiles carry out automatic updates, and the list goes on. If you ever watch any films or TV box sets which pre-date mobile phones, those of us of a certain age will be able to reminisce having to get up and go to the hallway to answer the phone, using an ‘A to Z’ to navigate and find addresses, and having a supply of 2 and 10p coins to use in public phone boxes. Some may consider that these were happier days, but they are now long gone, and today we are no longer tethered to a certain point where a cable happens to terminate.
Wire-free solutions’ increasing use in healthcare settings In hospitals and surgeries, the use of pagers is now seen by many as old and outdated, yet this robust wire-free technology has stood the test of time, and some resist its demise. Pagers might be the most obvious use of critical wire-free communication in healthcare settings, and in many NHS Trusts it is this technology that is in the cross-hairs to be replaced. However, there are many more data and
Courtney Thorne’s Connect Health System has been designed specifically for the healthcare sector utilising the latest technology, and ‘adhering to the strict guidelines of HTM 08-03 to ensure compliance and peace of mind’.
communication solutions in everyday use throughout the NHS. The most obvious solution that is now
in everyday use in hospitals is the mobile device – be it a phone or a tablet. Data providing information about a patient’s medication, symptoms, and medical history can all be accessed at the time of need – be this during initial patient consultations, during the treatment planning process, or indeed during treatment itself. An arguably less noticeable use of
wire-free communication is on the ward, where portable monitoring devices send patient vital signs in the form of data direct to a central hosting system, which means that at any time, any authorised clinician can review, manage, and act upon, the information logged. One of the immediate benefits of
wire-free technology is to free up nursing staff, so no longer are they undertaking and logging medical tests and vital signs, but instead they are able to focus on those with a greater need, prioritising the important and urgent tasks, and leaving technology to look after the mundane and repetitive monitoring. By their nature hospitals are huge consumers of just about everything – from electricity, heating fuel, water, and clinical consumables, to food, transport, and furniture; in fact you name it, and a hospital likely uses it. More and more solutions are available to manage and monitor the logistical efforts required, and more and more of these solutions rely upon wire-free data networks. Typically, NHS IT departments within
a Trust will manage a private Wi-Fi network, allowing data to pass over it from approved devices. Providing that this network covers 100% of the site, and has resilience, security, and back-ups built in, the majority of solutions will perform perfectly well. Of course, any solution will need IT department sign-off, and processes and procedures will need to be in place before any solution can simply hook up to an NHS IT Wi-Fi network.
72 Health Estate Journal June 2024
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