Improving patient care with mobile technology
Hospital and community care services around the country are increasingly seeing the benefit of using mobile computing technology to improve patient care and make the best of their limited resources. So when Gloucestershire NHS was looking for its computer supplier, it was important to find a single supplier that could meet its need for both desktop PCs and laptops.
 We went through a thorough evaluation process to benchmark the Toshiba products for quality and quickly realised that Toshiba had the breadth of capability to meet our wide-ranging needs. 
Steve Holley, IT Service Delivery Manager, Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust
Using the Government’s Buying Solutions framework, the procurement process for the UK public sector, computer and IT services specialist Viglen was awarded the contract and recommended its partner Toshiba’s laptop products to fulfill the mobile brief.
Awarding the contract, the Services Delivery Team, is responsible for supporting the IT needs of all the NHS organisations across the county of Gloucestershire and some in Herefordshire. This involves supporting an IT network and the needs of around 12,000 staff across three different NHS organisations in 300 buildings spread across 1,200 square miles. The groups include the Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Gloucestershire Case Services (community care) and 2gether NHS Foundation Trust (mental and social care).
From a technical standpoint, Steve and his team have also been impressed with the relationship. “The relationship has been managed very well by Viglen. Viglen has proven to be very flexible and acted as a good mediator with Toshiba when required and that has enabled the relationship to work very well. That single point of contact is very important for us.” commented Steve Holley.
The Toshiba Next Business Day Up And Running support service is more convenient for the customer by minimising downtime and enabling the continued use of a laptop containing all of their data, as well as being a lower cost versus traditional Next Business Day onsite warranty services.
Through regular quarterly meetings to review customer needs and experiences and to discuss future product roadmaps and new technologies, Gloucestershire, Viglen and Toshiba have found they can meet the needs of the different organisations under the contract and resolve any issues swiftly. Moving forward, other areas of Gloucestershire NHS are now beginning to examine if going mobile could assist in their patient care and in making efficiencies.
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