02 April 2024
CDW has joined forces with Stockport NHS Foundation Trust to better enable staff and improve patient care with innovation and digital capabilities.
The collaboration is part of an 18-month digital transformation programme, and includes introducing cutting-edge solutions at Stepping Hill Hospital, the main acute hospital in the Stockport area.
The digital transformation includes the implementation of a new Cisco wireless network infrastructure, digital informatics supporting agile working, Kontakt.io Real-Time Location Services (RTLS) for medical device management integrated with Imprivata Enterprise Access Management (formerly OneSign) and VDI infrastructure for fast and easy access to clinical workspaces. The partnership also incorporates a Zebra electronic blood tracking system which enhances traceability and reduces potential errors, thereby improving patient care.
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust runs Stepping Hill hospital; the first acute hospital in the UK to implement the Kontakt.io Real-Time Location Services solution. Setting a precedent for innovation within NHS trusts, Stockport is paving the way for other trusts to integrate new technologies that can vastly transform and enable improved patient outcomes.
With some 6,300 staff, Stepping Hill serves 300,000 patients annually. Like many hospitals, it had been heavily reliant on manual processes. The hospital had a clear need to modernise and introduce technology to enhance patient care and flow.
“We knew we needed to be smarter to maximise and optimise our existing resources. The new technology makes sharing devices and information more seamless and has enabled us to provide the infrastructure and digital capability to support a more agile working environment and more mobile workforce across multiple care settings,” said Holly Carr, chief clinical information officer and clinical safety officer.
The trust turned to CDW as its technology partner due to its longstanding experience and wealth of knowledge in the healthcare sector and because CDW provided consistent value and consultancy throughout the programme. The transformation will serve as a model for other NHS trusts seeking to implement technology to improve overall performance.
“The forward-thinking vision that Stockport NHS Foundation Trust harboured for integrating technology sparked genuine excitement at CDW,” said Phillipa Winter, chief technologist for health and social care at CDW. “It stands as a remarkable example of harnessing technology not to substitute human efforts but to elevate and amplify their impact on day-to-day tasks. This transformative approach not only empowers clinicians to extend their reach to more patients but also affords them the precious opportunity to invest additional, high-quality time in patient interactions, fostering a future where healthcare is not just efficient but deeply human-centred.”
