Royal Free unifies comms ahead of merger

Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has signed a £2m deal with Unify for its communications system. 

In an overhaul of its communications, the trust hopes the platform will make it easier to connect staff at critical moments as it means staff will be contactable by a single number whether they are using a landline or mobile device.

Will Smart, the trust’s IM&T director, said the project has been driven by the requirement to replace the trust’s switchboard which was “well beyond the end of its life”, as well as a focus on improving its technological infrastructure.

“We’ve invested a lot in back-end infrastructure such as virtualising our data centres, and this is another step along the way to bringing our infrastructure up to a very modern standard.”

Smart said the system will improve access to staff by removing communications “black spots” at the Royal Free London site through a wireless network, ensuring they can be reached at critical points.

The trust is planning to merge with Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals NHS Trust. The organisations have already received approval for the merger from the Trust Development Authority and will submit a business case to the trust board in July this year.

Smart said the system will also be useful as part the merger, as it means staff working across different hospitals at different points can be contacted on the same extension.

“For some staff, there will be much more travelling between sites, and it’s important that they’re equally contactable wherever they are and don’t have to work out which extension they’re on.”

Smart said the trust is beginning to explore other features of the system, such as point of presence and unified messaging, to see whether they can be used to lead to more efficient group discussions.

The deal includes access to voice messaging, mobile access, video conferencing web collaboration, as well as 6,300 extensions for IP-based SIP telephones for clinical and administrative staff across the trust.

The main communications platform is up and running, and the hospital is beginning to go live in a phased implementation.

Smart said the entire Royal Free London site will be set up on the system by the end of September, with Barnet and Chase Farm Hospitals taking place sometime after.