Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust Improves Efficiency Using AV Xpert's Video Conferencing Solutions

Posted by Nicholas Yeandle on 24/11/2020

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) supports a population of almost one million people with around 4,000 staff based at more than 50 different locations, delivering physical, mental health and specialist assistance.

The trust first contacted AV Xpert in 2018 after experiencing some difficulties with a video conferencing solution they had started implementing themselves.

Working closely together, AV Xpert and CPFT have developed a mobile video conferencing solution that improves efficiency and provides ease of operation across multiple sites.

Requirements

The trust wanted to reduce the number of journeys that colleagues were making between sites in East Anglia for physical meetings, thereby reducing its impact on the environment and improving efficiency. Video conferencing was seen as a key tool for collaboration between consultants, managers and patients, but the trust had struggled to configure two trial units they had purchased from another supplier, encountering audio problems.

A key requirement of a video conferencing solution for the trust was ease of operation as well as consistency across multiple sites. Users needed to be familiar with the system enabling them to operate it wherever they happened to be working with minimal training costs. In many cases staff needed to access the system with their existing IT login credentials meaning a built-in PC was essential. There was also a need for many of the video conferencing systems to be portable between different meeting rooms. The units required extra simplicity to enable users without technical AV knowledge to operate them instantaneously without taking time out of their schedule.

The Solution

As of November 2020, AV Xpert has provided 19 bespoke video conferencing systems to CPFT since the summer of 2018. These have included easy-to-operate wall-mounted and portable units with screen sizes ranging from 49 to 65 inches, depending on the main application. Excellent visual and audio quality has been achieved with AV Xpert providing advice regarding specifications for the integrated units and positioning of equipment such as microphones for optimum effect.

The trust benefits from consistency of operation across all units as well as the intended savings in time, money and carbon emissions from avoidable journeys. Physical meetings, which can involve more than 30 people in some instances, have frequently been replaced with online collaboration.

AV Xpert has provided a free one-year on-site support warranty, which is offered in addition to the standard warranties provided by equipment manufacturers. Any initial queries regarding the newly installed equipment were answered promptly and an operational guide was put together by AV Xpert and attached to all portable units.

After more than one year of successful system operation, AV Xpert is continuing to provide support for all systems implemented within the trust and is currently trialling a modified, portable remote consultation unit which can be used to provide wellness support services remotely, and can be operated by nurses on their wards with ease by loading pre-configured video meetings for their patients at the touch of a button. An integrated battery pack will provide ample power so the system can be used in areas where it cannot be plugged in easily, or where it needs moving from place to place, such as patients' bedsides.

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