Princess Alexandra Hospital connects with all four UK mobile operators

In the modern healthcare sector, robust IT and communications are fundamental to reliable and safe operations (of all kinds), and looking to provide 4G connectivity to a key part of its estate, the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT) has concluded a project with connectivity infrastructure-as-a-service provider Freshwave to design, deploy and provide ongoing support for a 4G distributed antenna system (DAS) at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, Essex.

The PAHT provides a full range of general acute, outpatient and diagnostic services at the Princess Alexandra Hospital, the Herts and Essex Hospital in Bishop’s Stortford and St Margaret’s Hospital in Epping on the north-east edge of London.

The trust employs more than 4,000 staff and serves a local population of around 350,000 in west Essex and east Hertfordshire, centred on the M11 corridor and the towns of Harlow, Bishop’s Stortford and Epping. Its extended catchment area incorporates a population of up to 500,000 and includes the areas of Hoddesdon, Cheshunt and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire. In October 2019, the UK government announced that it was to receive funding to rebuild a new hospital in Harlow.

As part of its vision and values, the trust said that it works to provide joined-up healthcare that puts our patients first and will also use up-to-date treatments, technology and facilities.

Explaining some of the challenges of the Princess Alexandra Hospital project, Freshwave noted that whether newly built or older, hospitals often have complex physical layouts, with thick concrete or steel walls and floors. While this is important for the health and safety of patients, visitors and staff, it also leads to connectivity dead spots as the structure weakens mobile signals trying to enter from outside.

To that end, the DAS has been built to ensure that 15 buildings across the hospital site enjoy access to carrier-grade 4G connectivity. Given that complex machinery can also interfere with wireless signals, an in-building DAS enhances mobile signal indoors and provides guaranteed quality of service as it connects securely to mobile networks.

“We needed the right connectivity pathway now that would work for the hospital today and also take us into the future,” said Jeffrey Wood, deputy director of ICT at the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust. “There is so much that can be done as technologies continue to develop in the digital age, so I’m pleased that we’ve partnered with Freshwave on our hospital cellular solution.”

All colleagues, patients and visitors are now said to be able to receive assured connectivity, regardless of the mobile network they use. In addition, the new DAS is said to allow everyone to move around the building with no dropped connections. As Freshwave carried out the connectivity installation, the company ensured that there was no operational impact on the hospital.

“I’m happy that the Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust improved their mobile connectivity,” said Freshwave CEO Simon Frumkin. “Mobile is an essential part of healthcare infrastructure and will be vital in the ongoing move to digitise healthcare.”