Seven NHS trusts are set to trial a range of wireless technology schemes aimed at boosting patient care and improving connectivity.

Leaders from Mid Cheshire Hospitals and Princess Alexandra Hospital will explore the efficiency of wireless trackers on medical equipment and hospital beds.

National Health Service England (NHSE) says the idea is that trackers will allow staff to live monitor key pieces of infrastructure and find what they need, when they need it.

“…our goal is to create a reliable, fast and secure network access solution…”

Better wireless technology in the ambulance sector will help streamline the transfer of patient care data from ambulances to hospitals. These improvements will be carried out across the North West and East of England ambulance services trusts.

Doctors in Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT) will test how the combination of satellite and cloud-based wireless technology can improve connectivity across its 10 hospitals and broader portfolio of services.

“As one of the largest NHS trusts in the country, it is essential that we are able to provide continuous patient care with minimal disruption,” said Dan Prescott, group CIO at MFT.

“With Wireless Trial we aim to create a reliable, fast and secure network access solution to address unexpected connectivity issues, even in areas with poor connectivity.”

NHSE awarded trusts £1m as part of the wireless testing programme.

“I have been impressed by the innovative ideas that come out of the system…”

Previous trials have led to South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust becoming the UK's first 5G-connected hospital and the development of the University College London Hospitals Find and Treat service.

However, as part of this latest round, staff at Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust will benefit from a new app that will allow them to conduct bedside observations – the idea is to spend less time on patient notes and more time on real patient.

Finally, the Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust You will speed up patient assessment time by wirelessly synchronizing diagnostic devices with your electronic patient record.

NHSE executive director of platforms Stephen Koch said: “I have been impressed by the innovative ideas emerging from the scheme and we are delighted to be able to award this funding to successful entrants to develop new or improved wireless solutions for the NHS. “

NHSE says it will provide advice and guidance to trusts, while capturing and sharing best practice from all trials.

Koch added: “We will be monitoring the results of the trials and we are very hopeful that some of them can be expanded across the health and social care system, saving clinical time, improving patient care and saving money for the system.”

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