Specialist firm Affiniti has landed a long-term deal to install and manage the entire communications system for the new #553 million University Hospital in Birmingham.
The twelve-year PFI contract, worth #20 million, will see Affiniti design, build and manage the system, and periodically refresh the technology to ensure the new UHB super hospital remains exemplary in the services it offers staff and patients.
Affiniti was selected as the preferred technology provider by Balfour Beatty’s PPP/PFI healthcare arm, Consort Healthcare and the hospital's ICT Services department, following a rigorous approval process. The communications service is part of a larger project, which will see the construction of the first new general hospital in Birmingham for 70 years.
It is central to the reconfiguration of hospital services and the improvement of clinical facilities in the region.
The five-phase project will see Affiniti take control of the current Cisco and Siemens network by the end of 2006.
As the new hospital units are built, Affiniti will be responsible for deploying, maintaining and managing all communications requirements. The infrastructure will underpin a broad range of services within the hospital, including internal and external communications, facilities management, medical equipment and clinical applications.
Affiniti will maintain a permanent onsite network management team including a service delivery manager, voice and data engineers and operations staff to provide day-to-day support.
A spokesperson for Consort Healthcare said: "In the ever advancing field of technology, 12 years is a long time.
"When looking for a partner for the communications aspects of this project we were keenly aware that we would require a partner with the commitment, expertise, flexibility and long-term vision to see it through. Affiniti has these attributes and proposed a bespoke solution that met the specifications put forward by Consort and UHB."
Gary Young, managing director of Affiniti, added: "For Affiniti this PFI contract represents the commencement of a long term partnership with Balfour Beatty/Consort Healthcare and the University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
"We are working closely with both organisations to ensure that the solutions we provide meet and hopefully exceed their expectations.
"By upgrading, managing the lifecycle of the communications services we provide, Affiniti will ensure that UHB has a service that will support their key medical facilities and address their ambitions for greater efficiency and improved patient care." .
