I News I
Leading NHS Foundation Trust selects Block Solutions to deliver complete network infrastructure redesign.
LONDON, UK, 6th February 2006
Block Solutions has announced it has won a contract to deliver a comprehensive, new network infrastructure for Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.
Block Solutions, a UK based Cisco Premier Partner with Advanced Specialisations in Wireless and Security technologies, announced today that they have been engaged to design and deliver a complete network infrastructure refresh for Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust .
Guy's and St Thomas' (GSTT) is one of the largest and busiest hospital Trusts in the country, with over 9,000 staff servicing more than 750,000 patient contacts a year. The Trust recognised that they needed to improve the reliability and performance of the GSTT network to support key modern clinical applications such as PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) and EPR (Electronic Patient Records).
“We had been experiencing regular network outages that were causing substantial disruption to business operations”, says Alistair Shearin, Director of IT&T for GSTT. “My immediate concern was striking the right balance between investing resources in increasing the reliability of the network in the short-term, whilst also identifying and addressing the underlying issues in order to achieve a long-term resolution.”
Initially, Block was engaged to provide expert resource to carry out a full appraisal of the GSTT network infrastructure. As an immediate priority, Block then implemented tactical changes that increased the short-term stability of the network.
Mr. Shearin added, “Block’s consultants were able quickly to identify the underlying problems and implement the changes required to stabilise the network. In addition, they ensured any immediate invetsment could be incorporated within the strategic network design, minimising the risk of wasted expenditure.”
Block was also actively involved in helping the Trust initiate the Network Redesign project and produce a supporting business case.
“The relationship has now developed into a trusted partnership in which Block fully understands our IT strategy, and advises on future infrastructure investment.”
In February 2006, Block will begin the work to design and deliver an entire Cisco networking infrastructure across both sites, encompassing over 80 communications rooms and providing over 12,000 end-user connections.
(All information correct at time of going to print.)
