Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children Installs Vocera Communications System

Hands-free voice communications system provides exceptional service to staff and patients and contributes to hospital winning top IT awards

BELFAST (June 30, 2006) - The Royal Hospitals announced today that it will consolidate its communication processes to improve patient care and staff satisfaction by using the Vocera Communications System, by Worldwide Solutions. This cutting-edge solution forms an integral part of the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children's (RBHSC's) new wireless voice and data infrastructure which has just been recognized as the Best Enterprise Deployment for the public sector at the prestigious Wireless Broadband Innovation Awards 2006 and Public Sector Project of the Year at the Techworld Awards 2006.

Seventy-five healthcare staff working in RBHSC's Barbour Ward will use the Vocera solution, which simplifies communication processes through a combination of the Vocera System Software and Vocera Communications Badges. The badge, weighing less than 2 ounces, can be clipped to a shirt pocket or collar, or worn on a lanyard, enabling instant, hands-free voice communication. By simply pressing a button on the badge and asking the system to call by name, title, or function, staff will be instantly connected to the resources or colleagues they need anywhere in the hospital's wireless environment. Combining the leading-edge technologies of Wireless LAN (WiFi), Voice over IP (VoIP), and speech recognition, Vocera allows users to communicate, make decisions, and act quickly anytime, anywhere within a wireless environment.

"Vocera will be a huge asset to our staff," said Paul Duffy, IT Manager, Royal Hospitals. "Nurses are especially excited about this solution because they will save time tracking down staff and resources and will be able to spend more time with patients."

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Before using the Vocera Communications System, staff used a variety of communication tools such as landline telephones, radios, pagers, and mobile phones. Each of these tools proved ineffective, as they could not be used in conjunction with one another. The Vocera Communications System resolves this issue by allowing staff to instantly contact all relevant personnel by using one device.

"We expect three immediate advantages of using Vocera's hands-free devices: time-saving, cost-cutting, and better call management," notes Dave Riley, Managing Director of Worldwide Solutions, which served as Vocera's implementation partner and which worked with Telindus a company that ensured the wireless network was fully optimized for the Vocera Communications System. "The nursing staff will not have to walk so far during shifts, patients will be moved from high cost areas in the hospital to other wards more swiftly, and calls to the hospital switchboard will be reduced."

"We are already delighted with our Vocera Communications System," continued Duffy. "Installing Vocera on our wireless LAN was definitely one of the major factors in attaining the Best Enterprise Deployment for the public sector award at the Wireless Broadband Innovation Awards last month. Because of this success, we hope to install Vocera not just within the Royal Hospital, but throughout the Trust."

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