The Solution and Benefits

The Solution

Maintel proposed replacing the 54 separate legacy systems with a single centralised telephony solution. Approximately 7,500 users across the remote sites were moved to the Avaya Aura Platform.

This large, complex and powerful system was complemented by cordless phones, which were included as part of the tender. Maintel partnered with healthcare communications solution provider Ascom to replace the multiple pagers, phones and mobile devices that clinicians used every day with a single multi-functional cordless handset, purpose built for healthcare professionals.

NHS Lanarkshire made a conscious decision not to run voice over Wi-Fi, as it wasn’t under their control. Maintel’s solution ran Ascom d63 handsets over an enterprise-grade DECT platform, and Ascom Myco 2 smartphones with dual Wi-Fi and DECT capability for clinicians requiring cardiac arrest alerts. This ensured that critical alerts would get through in the event of either route failing.

The Benefits

The combination of the Avaya system and Ascom clinical communications solutions has already made a difference to how critical services have been delivered, and offered the health board unexpected flexibility when the Covid pandemic hit. Benefits include:

A single multi-functional device – Clinicians were issued a single robust and secure handset to replace their multiple phones and pagers, allowing them to carry their extension with them and receive and respond to alerts as they move around the site.

Clinicians save time – Instead of being paged from a central switchboard, locating a phone to dial a code and pick up the call, messages and voice calls are routed directly to an individual’s handset, allowing them to focus on the patients. Easier management and maintenance – fault records have drastically reduced and everything is supported on a centralised, secure management framework. Faults are dealt with, and end users are supported faster.

Effortless agility – Softphones had been available but not deployed when the Covid pandemic began. With the capability already onsite, a rapid deployment allowed existing employees to work remotely, and to quickly establish 150 new track and trace staff working from home.

Instant scalability – When the 1st Covid vaccination rollout was announced, the health board were able to get a 15 seat contact centre up and working within 24 hours to take calls from the public.

“The new system implemented by Maintel has given us much better control and flexibility to better support our users and improve our services, and it has already transformed how our clinicians work. This solution will also help deliver improved patient care, which is central to all our technology we implement.”

Shane Carrier, Telecoms Manager, NHS Lanarkshire