Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has installed enhanced digital screens to deliver real-time information to patients in various departments throughout its hospitals.
The screens, from Saturn Communications, were first installed in the accident and emergency department at Manchester Royal Infirmary and then rolled out across other hospitals.
Catherine Bartlett, acting lead nurse for urgent care, said: “The screens are a good source of entertainment and distraction while people are waiting. We are also using them as a way of informing patients of the approximate waiting times, which has meant that they don’t need to ask our reception staff as often and have an indication of when they will be seen.
“Patients find the hospital information interesting and in the future we hope to develop the screens to promote ‘Choose Well’ messages and to display more detailed information with the intention of educating patients on what service to use and therefore reducing the overall waiting time and the number of repeat visitors who could access healthcare services elsewhere such as their local pharmacist.”
In the initial phase of the project four 55-inch LCD screens were installed in the A&E department of the Manchester Royal Infirmary, suspended from the ceiling to provide maximum visibility throughout the waiting area. All four screens have been synchronised to play the same content at exactly the same time and are constantly refreshed with live information relating to the status of the department and patient waiting times. Saturn worked with the trust’s communications and IT departments to ensure maximum reliability and optimal system performance.
Moving forward the trust can provide recommendations tailored to the particular department where each screen is located, such as advice on optimising fluid intake to enjoy the best possible ultrasound images. TV programming can also be selected specifically to appeal to the types of audiences in each department. For example, the children’s departments can be configured to show CBeebies or CBBC, interspersed with appropriate medical information films.
A live ticker displaying information such as waiting times and the status of various clinics is displayed permanently at the bottom of the screen. In other areas programming may default to the BBC newsfeed or magazine-type shows. This capability allows the hospital to show content of local or national interest, such as coverage of the Olympic Games .
