Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust is undergoing a restructuring of its cloud network to keep up with patient demands

Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust will deploy a cloud-based networking system which will ensure security for the hospital, according to its Director of IT. The cloud system will ensure the organisation’s patient data records are ‘secure’ while also keeping up to the speed the network requires, in the “busy” hospital. (See also: Yeovil Hospital NHS Trust aims to go paperless with digital patient records)

Director of IT David Walliker at Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hopsital NHS Trust has overhauled the cloud system which will allow the hospital to gain its “Global Digital Excellence Status”, in being one of only 12 NHS Trusts across England to deliver the digital technology. The digital transformation, led by Walliker, will be part of the government’s plan to invest in technology in the healthcare sector.

The cloud service will support the Royal Liverpool’s new £335m hospital in helping to transform the way the Trust operates and reduce clinical risk.

“At the new Royal we aim to provide a reliable, connected environment that patients and staff can expect in their homes and everyday lives. A robust networking infrastructure will allow us to provide a secure, fast and ‘always on’ connectivity to our patients so that they can communicate with their family, friends and work colleagues throughout their entire stay,” Walliker said.

The digital technology will enable hospital staff to access more data and can support the staff in making better informed decisions for their patients.

“Fundamentally the new network will deliver the foundation for the new Liverpool Health Campus for improved patient outcomes and operational efficiency by connecting more ‘things’ on to the network,” Walliker said.

Digital apathy

Walliker has seen difficulty in implementing the cloud system with disruptions such as  “digital apathy” and a “reluctance to changing habits” being common concerns for the Director of IT; but admits the Trust is “completely open” to a new way of working.

The re-shaping of the cloud system will see Walliker having to deal with the capacity of the infrastructure in being “one of the main requirements” for developing the digital technology.

“It was one of the reasons why we wanted to overhaul and integrate a cloud-enabled network, to make it fully adaptable to the requirements of our hospital,” he said. “We wanted to make sure all of our patients and staff will be able to enjoy the benefits our new technology.”

Director of IT Walliker sees the future of Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust being “only one” of the digital elements of a “radical change” within the organisation. (See also: ‘Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust ‘to go paperless by 2018’)

“We’ve created an innovative five-year strategy, ‘Hospital 2.0’ that aims to modernise the hospital, create efficiency and vastly improve patient experience – and these initial changes to our IT infrastructure act as the foundation which will allow us to achieve our goals.”

The cloud technology will enable the Trust to improve the patient’s quality of life by providing “exceptional, safe and accessible” healthcare which will allow the organisation to play a lead role in the development of a sustainable health system for its community.