SIEMENS REALITIS DX CHOSEN BY LOTHIAN NHS BOARD FOR FLAGSHIP HOSPITAL SITE

Edinburgh's new Royal Infirmary takes delivery of advanced switching system.

Siemens Communications has completed phase one of a major network upgrade for the Lothian NHS Board in Scotland with phase two, the installation of a Realitis DX advanced switching system, well underway. The two systems will be the core telephony engine of the new Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh - the Board's new 184 million pound flagship hospital.

The two-switch configuration will be installed in two separate air-conditioned, fireproof control rooms at the new hospital. The design ensures that there are telephones in each department, including operating theatres, wards and intensive care units that can be linked to either switch by independently routed circuits as part of a fully redundant architecture. The Realitis DX pair, each with a 2,000 line capacity, brings the existing Siemens-based telephony network linking the Board's hospitals and other facilities to a total of 39 all of, which are either ISDX or Realitis DX PABX switching systems.

The state-of-the-art 869-bed facility three miles south of the city is due to be opened fully in 2003 with around 5,000 staff transferring from several locations around the City, including the original Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Over 600 telephone extensions are already up and running at the new hospital, as part of a managed service delivered to the Lothian NHS Board over the network by Cable & Wireless.

Alan Hush, telecommunications manager, Lothian University Hospitals Trust, said: "We wanted the Realitis for our managed service because of its proven reliability and functionality. The Trust has been well served for many years by Siemens' communications equipment and this was a logical choice for our newest hospital."

Siemens won the contract in competitive tender, providing full installation and commissioning, extending its existing network maintenance contract that includes a permanent on-site engineer.

Hugh Bell, Siemens account manager, said: "The Realitis project represents a crucial component in the roll-out of Lothian NHS Board's plans for health services in the region. It also continues the successful relationship with Cable & Wireless. Over an eight-year period, the number of telephone extensions involved has risen from 8,000 to 11,500, just as our switch software has maintained its leading-edge performance, with version 8.0 about to be released."

One group of employees that will not need to re-locate is the switchboard operators handling calls at present for the existing Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, phase 1 of new development and other hospitals within that Trust. The functionality of the Siemens switches allows the individual systems to appear as one large virtual switch, so the operators can be physically sited anywhere on the network. The Realitis system comes IP ready and allows future development should the Board consider Voice over IP for its internal voice traffic, most notably for smaller sites in the first instance, removing the cost of maintaining their small PBXs or key systems.

      
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