Net gain for hospital with wi-fi first

A HOSPITAL in the Lothians has become the first in the country to introduce wi-fi to aid staff communication.

As part of a 700,000 IT upgrade at St John's Hospital in Livingston the system has been brought in so consultants can access hand-held computers at a patient's bedside.

Health chiefs have also increased the hospital's bandwidth, allowing more modern technology to be used such as video conferencing and the exchange of pictures and X-ray images between clinicians.

Seventy-five of the hand-held computers have been distributed to staff as NHS Lothian gradually moves away from using paper.

Iain Scott Robertson, head of ehealth operations and infrastructure, said: "Now that information can be stored and accessed electronically, we have seen a significant reduction in the volume of paper notes on the wards which helps us improve overall efficiency.

"St John's Hospital is a core site for NHS Lothian and now with its increased wireless capability, we hope to continue to improve clinical services."