SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Vocera Communications, Inc. (NYSE:VCRA), a recognized leader in clinical communication and workflow solutions, announced that Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital (RNOH) NHS Trust reported an 84% improvement in care team response time after replacing pagers with the Vocera smartphone app and hands-free communication badge. After deploying the Vocera solutions, mobilization of the cardiac arrest team at the 220-bed hospital went from an average of two minutes to 20 seconds.
Before implementing Vocera technology in the 100-acre hospital, care team members would receive pages, or bleep notifications, that initiated a complex workflow. Clinicians that received notifications were tasked with finding a phone, calling the switchboard operator, writing down the message, repeating it back to the operator, and responding accordingly.
“We needed a faster, more reliable communication system,” said Bela Haria, Information Management and Technology Senior Project Manager at RNOH. “Bleeps were falling to bits and had to be held together with tape. Additionally, some areas in the hospital didn’t have bleep coverage.”
During the peak of COVID-19, RNOH extended its pager replacement program, utilizing the full potential of the Vocera communication platform. The hospital went from a controlled roll out to relying completely on Vocera solutions for all notifications, including all crash calls. The hospital also quickly shifted from focusing on and performing elective surgeries to preparing for and managing patient surges.
“In a 10-day period we turned our quiet, elective surgery hospital into the orthopaedic trauma center for a large portion of north central London,” said Matt Phillips, Lead Clinical Practitioner, Acute Intervention Team at RNOH. “We suddenly went from caring for pre-assessed elective patients, to having multiple trauma-related cases per week.”
A global leader in orthopaedic and spinal surgery, RNOH turned its private patient unit into a respiratory therapy unit where most of the COVID-19 patients were treated. The hospital equipped runners with wearable Vocera Badges to bring necessary supplies to clinicians treating patients in the make-shift isolation rooms. Runners could communicate with clinicians without having to enter the rooms, eliminating the need for the runner to don personal protective equipment (PPE).
“Vocera technology sped up communication and coordination during the peak of the COVID-19 crisis,” said Pauline Robertson, Head of Nursing for the Medicine and Therapies at RNOH. “It helped us provide seamless patient care without risking infection, and we were able to conserve precious PPE.”
Vocera technology also helped RNOH staff stay connected to team members outside the hospital during the pandemic. Clinicians working in pop-up testing tents that the British Army set up in the hospital’s car park were equipped with Vocera Badges.
“If it weren’t for Vocera, we wouldn’t have had a way to quickly and easily communicate with staff working in our testing tents,” Phillips said. “Vocera technology was brilliant because we didn't have to worry about anything related to communication. We gave staff a badge, and we were instantly at peace knowing they had a secure means to communicate with each other and with the rest of hospital staff.”
“It is impressive to see how Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital unified staff and adapted so quickly in response to the changing dynamics created by COVID-19,” said Brent Lang, Chairman and CEO of Vocera. “The hospital exemplifies how effective communication in healthcare can enhance the safety and well-being of patients, frontline workers, and the broader community.”
About Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital
The RNOH was founded in 1905 with the amalgamation of London's three specialist orthopaedic hospitals into a single centre of excellence - the Royal (1838) in Hanover Square, the National (1864) in Great Portland and Bolsover Streets, and the City (1851) in Hatton Garden. The RNOH, the largest specialist orthopaedic hospital in the UK, and a recognised world leader in the field of orthopaedics, treats more than 120,000 neuro-musculoskeletal patients a year for complex conditions ranging from acute spinal injuries and bone cancer to chronic pain and joint reconstruction.
About Vocera
The mission of Vocera Communications, Inc. is to simplify and improve the lives of healthcare professionals, patients and families, while enabling hospitals to enhance quality of care and operational efficiency. In 2000, when the company was founded, we began to forever change the way care teams communicate. Today, Vocera offers the leading platform for improving clinical communication and workflow. More than 2,100 facilities worldwide, including nearly 1,700 hospitals and healthcare facilities, have selected our solutions. Care team members use our solutions to communicate and collaborate with co-workers by securely texting or calling, and to be notified of important alerts and alarms. They can choose the right device for their role or task, including smartphones or our hands-free, wearable Vocera Smartbadge and Vocera Badge. Interoperability between the Vocera Platform and more than 150 clinical and operational systems helps reduce alarm fatigue; speed up staff response times; and improve patient care, safety, and experience. In addition to healthcare, Vocera is at home in luxury hotels, aged care facilities, retail stores, schools, power facilities, libraries, and more. Vocera solutions make mobile workers safer and more effective by enabling them to connect instantly with other people and access resources or information quickly. Vocera has made the list of Forbes 100 Most Trustworthy Companies in America. Visit www.vocera.com and follow @VoceraComm on Twitter.
Vocera® and the Vocera logo are trademarks of Vocera Communications, Inc. registered in the United States and other jurisdictions. All other trademarks appearing in this release are the property of their respective owners.
