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| Hexham General Hospital: DISNEYLAND COMES TO HEXHAM HOSPITAL |
A visit to Disneyland has paid off for patients at Hexham General Hospital - now they're the first in the country to be given American-style pagers when they attend for an outpatient's appointment
Instead of waiting in outpatients to be seen by a doctor, patients are free to go for a coffee or sit in the hospital garden confident that the small black box will alert them when their doctor is free.
During a trip to Florida Northumbria Healthcare's Chief Executive Sue Page was given a small black pager as she waited for a restaurant table. Instead of hanging around the family were able to go off and do their own thing until they were alerted on the pager that their table was ready.
Sue was so impressed that when she returned she told staff to install it in waiting areas so that patients could go for a coffee or sit outside while waiting to see their doctor.
Now Hexham patients are given a pager in the outpatients department and are alerted by the square black box vibrating, bleeping and flashing when their doctor is free.
"When I was given the pager in Florida I thought it was brilliant, we didn't have to queue we wandered off to see the sights and they called us on the pager when our table was ready.
"I immediately thought it would be great for patients - instead of waiting in outpatients they can go for a coffee, have a look around the hospital or sit outdoors in the garden. Now they're told when their doctor is free by the pager vibrating, flashing and bleeping."
The pagers have received such a warm welcome by patients that Northumbria Healthcare NHS Trust is now planning to put them into the maternity department and other hospitals in the trust.
The pagers were supplied by Call-Systems Technology, the specialist on-site communications company. The MediCall system at Hexham uses three compact desktop transmitters and 36 'Glowster' pagers, which are square in shape. They alert the patient to contact a prearranged person, such as a nurse or practitioner, by vibration, an alarm tone and flashing red lights. This three-fold alert means that the Glowster is suitable for all patients, including those with impaired sight or hearing.
The Glowster's square design and alert system, completely different from a conventional 'pocket and forget' pager, means the paging alert is almost impossible to miss or ignore, and the unit is unlikely to be taken away accidentally.
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Call-Systems Technology Ltd, Middlesex House, 29-45 High Street, Edgware, Middlesex HA8 7UU |
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