Bromley Hospital NHS Trust Signs £1.6m Network Deal

Communications and network infrastructure provider Damovo has won a £1.6m contract to provide the communications network for the new Bromley hospital, currently being built under a £155m PFI (private finance initiative) deal.

The contract, worth £1.6m, will see Damovo providing a complete data, voice and cabling infrastructure.

Due to open in April 2003, the new hospital at Farnborough Common, Kent, will have a communications network designed to reduce costs and streamline communications in the healthcare service.

Morfydd Williams, head of IT at Bromley Hospitals NHS Trust, said the new network would deliver major benefits to patients: "It will enable staff to use technology to support patients at every stage of their visit."

Williams added, "The network will support a new system enabling staff to know exactly how many beds are available at any one time, and how many patients are about to be discharged."

David McKeigue, president and general manager of Damovo UK, commented: “Traditionally hospitals have not used internal systems to their full extent. Working as a partner, rather than just as a supplier, Damovo will provide a communications network that will enable the new hospital to benefit from the very latest technological breakthroughs, and allow information to be securely and quickly obtained where and when it is required.”

The network installed by Damovo will support the patient administration system, OASIS, and the paperless x-ray system known as PACS, and has been designed to support future developments in telemedicine.

Over 250 miles of cabling will support the new telephony system, allowing calls to be handled quickly and efficiently, and providing a voicemail facility. The network will supply 1500 computer outlets and 2000 phone points, with room for future expansion.