A new intensive care unit (ICU) at London’s St Mary’s Hospital incorporates, in a reported UK first, 16 customised Sony PCS-G50 videoconferencing units to enable 24/7 patient observation and monitoring, automated visitor management, and advanced videoconferencing between staff and consultants, operated from the patient’s bedside.
The bespoke system was designed and built by O.R. Networks. Sixteen individual bays equipped for patient care and observation enable staff to:
• View patient records and images on a bedside computer. From each bay nursing staff can talk with, and see, other staff, to authorise visitor entry, open doors, and illuminate guiding lights to the appropriate bay. Vital signs can also be automatically monitored.
• View patients from a remote location. Consultants have access to high quality overhead cameras that transmit images in real-time to wherever they are needed.
• Undertake operations in a bay using videoconferencing.
• Learn via real-time, real-life, observation systems, with every view, scan, result or analysis recordable for later review, comparison, or training video use.
The £8 m unit’s other features include antimicrobial surfaces, non-touch taps, and eight side rooms with negative pressure.
