In a significant move towards digital advancements, the esteemed IT solutions provider CDW and Stockport NHS Health Foundation Trust have entered into a strategic alliance. The aim of this union is to leverage digital capabilities to evolve staff functions and amplify patient care.
A part of an extensive 18-month digital transformation programme, this partnership introduces modern solutions at Stepping Hill Hospital, the primary acute hospital in the Stockport region.
The digitization, led by CDW, introduces impactful technologies such as a new Cisco wireless network infrastructure and digital informatics that enhance agile working. The Kontakt.io Real-Time Location Services (RTLS) system offers improved management of medical devices. Similarly, Imprivata Enterprise Access Management assists fast, secure access to clinical workspaces. Other strides include a Zebra electronic blood tracking system, ensuring better patient care by reducing errors and enhancing system traceability.
Stepping Hill Hospital, operated by the Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, is the first acute hospital in the UK to use the Kontakt.io Real-Time Location Services solution. With this adoption, Stockport paves the path for other trusts to embrace technologies essential for patient outcome improvement.
Stepping Hill Hospital, currently employing around 6,300 staff, caters to over 300,000 patients annually. The hospital had been predominantly dependent on manual systems and needed a technological overhaul. According to Holly Carr, Chief Clinical Information Officer and Clinical Safety Officer, “The new technology has made information and device sharing more fluid, introducing the digital ability to facilitate an agile working environment and a dynamic mobile workforce in various care settings.”
CDW was selected as the technology partner due to its extensive experience in the healthcare sector and its consistent value addition and consultancy throughout the program. This transformative step with CDW aims to set a benchmark for other NHS trusts intending to operationalize technology for performance enhancement.
“It was Stockport NHS Foundation Trust’s progressive vision to incorporate technology that evoked excitement at CDW,” said Phillipa Winter, Chief Technologist for Health and Social Care at CDW. Winter added that Stockport is an exceptional example of leveraging technology to optimize everyday tasks.
The partnership focuses on implementing key solutions. The new Cisco Wireless Network Infrastructure and Digital Informatics enhance agile working for clinical staff. The Kontakt.io Real-Time Location Services (RTLS) optimizes medical device and asset management, resulting in increased efficiency and rapid response times. Imprivata Enterprise Access Management extends swift and secure logins for clinicians, while Zebra Mobile Devices ensure full traceability of blood with handheld digital scanners to minimize errors and raise efficiency.
