St Mary’s Hospital unveils advanced intensive care units
10 April 2009
St Mary’s Hospital, part of Imperial College
Healthcare NHS Trust in London, has opened a leading-edge intensive care
unit
(ICU). The ICU uses 16 customised Sony PCS-G50 videoconferencing units
to enable 24/7 patient observation and monitoring, automated visitor
management and advanced videoconferencing between staff and consultants,
operated from the patient's bedside.
The technology system was
designed and built by O.R. Networks, who specialise in developing
communications solutions that promote medical advance.
With visual clarity being so critical to many aspects of the design,
O.R. Networks selected Sony's range of high quality video products. The sophisticated
functionality of Sony’s PCS-G50 videoconferencing unit provided the tools to uniquely modify its user interface to
incorporate the bespoke functions St Mary’s required. This, combined
with the system's fast and responsive ethernet control interface were key
to the overall design.
The new Intensive Care Unit is a ground-breaking concept. Sixteen
individual bays are fitted out with the highest specification technology
for patient care and observation and supported through the very best use
of modern communications systems ensuring that staff are in the right
place — at a patient’s bedside, with continuous access to full, clear
and supportive information and instant access to consultants and
colleagues. Its advanced features enable:
- first class care and comfort for the patient;
- nursing staff to spend time on health-critical work, with
information, records and images of the patient accessible on a
computer at the bedside. From each bay nursing staff are able to
talk with and see other staff, to authorise visitor entry, open
doors and illuminate guiding lights to the appropriate bay,
maximising the time nurses spend with patients;
- should they wish to view the patient from a remote location,
consultants have the highest quality overhead cameras to transmit
images to wherever they are needed, in real-time and with crystal
clear clarity;
- the fit out of the unit means that should an operation be
necessary, the bay itself is fully equipped as an operating room and
videoconferencing can easily be used;
- the educational benefits are outstanding for staff and students.
Real-time, real-life observation systems enables interactive tuition and
every view, scan, result or analysis can be recorded for later review,
comparison or the creation of training videos.
“We want to become a top-five global academic health science centre
within the next ten years,” explained Sue Burgis, Head Nurse Services
Manager, St Mary’s Hospital. “To be up there, we need to think big and
invest for the future. Hence our recent and ambitious project to
establish not just a new and larger ICU, but in fact to design the most
efficient and leading edge ICU in the world.”
“It is essential in the world of modern medicine that the technical
infrastructure and systems support the work of pioneering clinicians,
consultants and surgeons. We always design our systems to be
future-proofed, with the desire clearly being to have a framework that
enables and supports innovation rather than restricting it,” said Colin
Dobbyne, MD of O.R. Networks.
“We share the hospital’s vision of an
environment where patient care, staff communications, effective resource
management, information sharing and educational advance are seamlessly
supported through sophisticated and integrated communications
technology. This results in tangible benefits for all.”
Supporting the latest coding standards for smoother, more natural
video images, Sony’s high performance PCS-G50 delivers television
quality pictures and crystal-clear wideband audio in point-to-point or
multipoint calls. The system has been designed as a sophisticated and
more secure conferencing solution, allowing users to set up calls across
any mix of IP, ISDN, DSL and mobile telephone connections.
John Herman, Sony Professional, said, “Giant advancements in
technology have been made within the healthcare space in recent years
and St Mary’s, as a forward-thinking hospital, is looking to harness
these developments to improve patient care and efficiency. We are proud
that Sony’s technology is being used to make their vision a reality.”
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