Royal Children's Hospital Melbourne
Wavelink alongside Architech Network and Communication Solutions has delivered a new unified communications strategy for Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) Melbourne using Spectralink technology.
The engagement, which Wavelink initially struck in October 2018 saw the distributor engage with Architech to deliver the proof of concept, design, integration and solution deployment for RCH.
Architech is currently completing the integration and roll out involving 850 Spectralink Versity LTE devices across the hospital. Where possible, the implementation work such as testing and configuration, is being done remotely due to COVID-19.
Wavelink managing director IIan Rubin added the strategy involved bringing all the hospital’s communication together and providing full integration into the various platforms not only for clinical staff but also for facility operations and allied health providers.
“The process involved running various proofs of concept, which demonstrated the strategy would result in better care for patients and their families while reducing the load on staff and increasing efficiency. By combining purpose-built smart devices with healthcare-specific applications this delivered a true connected health experience,” Rubin said.
RCH has more than 6000 staff, 21 wards and 350 beds, and selected Spectralink Versity to deliver a unified communication platform along with SOTI mobile device management (MDM) and the Olinqua Ignite digital enablement platform.
Specifically, Spectralink Versity is a purpose-built, enterprise-grade clinical Android device that maintains the familiarity of a consumer device with the added features of ruggedised design, enterprise network connectivity, shared devices, hot swappable battery, dedicated alarm button and an integrated barcode scanner.
Previously, the hospital had a mix of legacy barcode scanner devices, traditional basic Wi-Fi phones, pagers and duress pendants.
“The rollout will enable the RCH be a global leader in health communication management, by delivering a truly unified and mobile communication platform for both clinical and facilities staff, integrated with its electronic medical records (EMR) and communications at their fingertips,” ArchiTech director, Rob Russell said.
RCH chief nursing information officer and clinical technology manager, Adrian Hutchinson pointed out one important factor in using Spectralink was its compliance with the hospital’s own EMR system.
As that was achieved, the RCH then layered in additional use cases and applications including unified communications and will add more applications as the platform is implemented.
“The RCH selected Spectralink Versity as it provided a unified, well rounded platform that encompasses integration, hardware capability and performance,” Hutchinson said.
On top of the unified communications strategy, Architech has been working RCH teams for more than two years, providing 24x7 network and security support for some of the facilities network.
As a direct result of this project, Architech are planning to hire additional team members in both sales and delivery to allow the timely propagation of this solution into other health providers.
"ArchiTech is continuing to deliver many urgent and critical projects into our clients during this pandemic, putting us in the fortunate position of being able maintain our team and hire additional team members during this unprecedented time," he said.
