NHS Trust Learns to save money through network managemet!

Bolton NHS Trust has learned to save money on their network infrustructure through investment in Chevin's TeVISTA. This is the first step to organising an uncontrolled network and achieving value for money by optimising performance to the desktop.

Bolton Hospitals is one of the UKs largest hospital trust based in the North West of England. It provides a full range of healthcare services to a catchment population of approximately 300,000.

Towards the end of 2000 Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust, wanted to update their network to implement a new electronic integrated patient system. With a user base of 3500, one main site, several smaller sites and a link to the NHSnet, this was a major investment and culture shift for the Trust. They needed to improve the networking infrastructure to support the new technology.

Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust had a long history of using network analysers, but now wanted to pro-actively manage and plan the development and investment in the network to support operational requirements. The network management team were introduced to TeVISTA in March 2001. The initial demonstration provided immediate information that was previously unavailable and it became apparent at an early stage that TeVISTA would provide the ability to make management decisions based on facts.

In conjunction with an upgrade to a fully switched Gigabit network, TeVISTA was chosen over other market leaders for the management of the network because it provided visibility in a switched environment, supporting both SNMP and Rmon standards, in addition to which TeVISTA was quick and easy to install and use. TeVISTA minimised risk in critical areas and helped them to identify problems before they developed. It also provided seamless integration, with no compatibility issues from Windows 95/98 to Windows XP and, unlike many other management products, had almost no impact on network loading due to Chevins HSRmon technology.

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After an initial pilot, the Accident and Emergency Department was one of the most critical departments to target as a first priority. In such an interdependent organisation, having a reliable network that runs smoothly will underpin the availability of information which enables healthcare professionals to make more informed decisions.

TeVISTA has enabled the Trust to aid faster fault-finding and capacity planning and to provide them with a total network baseline.

Brett Walmsley, the Trusts Systems and Network Manager said, We use TeVISTA to prove or disprove whether we need to invest in more bandwidth and not just to see where there is over-usage, but also where there is under-usage. This is critical in realigning scant resources and ensuring that we get the maximum from capital employed"

Historical reporting and real-time overviews of events prove invaluable for this type of complex distributed network. If problems do arise, TeVISTA is used to establish whether or not the problem lies with the network or elsewhere eliminating possibilities; a task which can now be carried out without leaving the desk no matter where the problem occurs whether at the Hospital or remote locations. This result in savings in staff time particularly on such a complex network and ultimately leads to improved clinical effectiveness.

Walmsley believes that, Investment in TeVISTA is the first step to organising an uncontrolled network...you achieve value for money by optimising performance to the desktop..."

Ease of use is crucial as are good clear visuals. Walmsley added, We found it very easy to use the software, this meant that coupled with clear visuals and alarms, less experienced staff were able to very quickly and easily get a real-time view of the status of the network".

Bolton Hospitals NHS Trust are proud that they able to support and manage a major networking infrastructure with minimum resources. Existing staff resource are able to develop their skills and concentrate on higher value tasks.

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ABOUT CHEVIN

Chevin is a leading provider of innovative software systems that enable organisations to improve performance and control costs of their networks. Its flagship product, TeVISTA, is platform-independent and gives a real-time overview of everything that is happening on the network as well as historical reports. All sizes of distributed networks can be managed remotely through intuitive graphical interfaces. Likely problems can be anticipated and avoided so that downtime is prevented, and network capacity can be scaled to meet demand.

Chevin was founded in 1989 and has offices in Europe and the US. Its software provides solutions for organisations whose business success depends on the effectiveness of their network and who find ease of use and a low cost of ownership particularly appealing. Customers include telcos and service providers, blue-chip companies, e-businesses and medium and large enterprises. Users of Chevin technology include Debenhams, British American Racing, Schroders, Skipton Building Society, BT, Royal Navy Fleet Support, the US Internal Revenue Services and numerous police forces, hospitals and councils.

ABOUT BOLTON NHS TRUST

The trust is a large district general hospital with all acute services located on the main site at Farnworth, on the outskirts of Bolton. It has a small number of beds located at Hulton Lane and Falls Birch hospital for long-term care. The trust serves a local population of 300,000, and it also serves the health authority population which is estimated at 600,000. The hospital, because of its location, ease of access and reputation for good clinical care, has seen year on year increases in attendance at both outpatients and A&E. The hospital has also seen year on year increases in finished consultant episodes (ie. where a patient has been seen, had treatment and been discharged).