Scarborough NHS Trust has appointed Affiniti, the communications integrator, to help improve hospital performance and efficiency by replacing its core network with a high bandwidth wireless infrastructure. The new wireless network will give patients far greater freedom of movement, as staff can continue to monitor and manage their care whether they are in the ward, the cafeteria or in the gardens. Staff will be able to access test results at the patient's bedside - bringing up all results and medical records in real time, so that staff and patients can see them immediately.

The additional network capacity will help the Trust overcome the problem of transporting large files, such as X-rays, which will enable a 'filmless environment' for all digital imaging. Previously, these images could disrupt the network, which carries essential applications for the Trust, including patient details.

The network will also lay the foundations for additional services in the future, such as RFID tracking which is currently being trialled within the maternity ward, and an IP contact centre solution.

The new network will benefit both hospitals within the Trust - District General Hospital in Scarborough and a 'community plus' hospital in Bridlington, 23 miles away. Affiniti's solution is based on Cisco equipment and has included a full design and implementation service, together with consulting on finance for the deal, as well as an ongoing network management to ensure the hospital has 24/7 monitoring of the network. The contract for the fixed and wireless network is worth approximately £1million over seven years.

David Worth, Head of IT at Scarborough Hospital said: "The Trust is working towards a more interactive IT solution which allows staff to be more flexible and real-time in their approach to patients. The network is the core enabler that will allow this to happen. It will improve the capacity and primarily help with providing a Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS). But in the future it will underpin a much more interactive and flexible way of working."

"We are pleased we have chosen Affiniti as our partner in this project because they have taken the time to truly understand what the Trust is trying to achieve."

Paul Renucci, Managing Director of Affiniti said, "Affiniti is pleased to be working with Scarborough NHS on this project. The infrastructure is designed to give the Trust a highly flexible and interactive network, including the ability to prioritise applications so that the most mission critical will gain priority for patient care.   By streamlining the systems, we have been able to find the additional moneys needed to fund the managed service element, which means that IT support staff can now be freed up from mundane monitoring tasks to concentrate on more strategic issues."

The network upgrade involves replacing the backbone with a 10 Gigabit core, based on Cisco equipment, which increases capacity by over 20 times to provide the 'filmless environment'. The 2MB link between sites has been replaced with 100MB. The wireless network will enable over 210 access points across both campuses, giving full coverage for wireless voice, data and location based services.

Affiniti, the communications integrator, specialises in designing, implementing and managing intelligent communications solutions for private and public sector organisations.

Some of its customers include: Experian, Carphone Warehouse, British Airways, Ford, Admiral Insurance, Edinburgh Telford College , Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen Hospital , Cheshire Police, Citigroup, Lloyds TSB.

Affiniti is part of the KCOM Group.

KCOM Group PLC provides a range of integrated IT and communications services to businesses, and internet and telecommunications services to selected consumer markets, within the UK .

The Group's portfolio of businesses works with both leading private enterprise customers and public sector organisations. Through its Affiniti, Smart421 and JAM IP brands, the Group delivers solutions covering unified communications, contact centre solutions, data management, applications integration and managed services.

The KCOM Group also includes a regionally-focused business, Kingston Communications, which supports small to medium-sized businesses. Through its KC and Eclipse brands, the business offers a wide range of internet-based and telecommunications services. The regional business also provides telephony and internet services to targeted consumers through its KC, Eclipse and Karoo brands.

The Group is listed on the London Stock Exchange and employs over 2,700 people across the UK .

Dianne White
Affiniti
01442 883370 / 07818 077235
E: dianne.white@affiniti.com

Emma Turner
Nelson Bostock Communications
020 7792 7440
E: emma.turner@nelsonbostock.com