"The UHNM Charity is really pleased to be able to support this initiative. It's massive for us as it means our patients, their relatives, our visitors and staff all have free access to an entertainment platform on any device. As it's free and easy to use - it's accessible to everybody. This is a really incredible opportunity for everyone to get involved."
Our Solution
WiFi SPARK has already been providing the WiFi for Royal Stoke Hospital and County Hospital since 2014. The Trust was the first to adopt our optimised Patient Engagement Platform which integrated wayfinding, games, welcome videos and more, all directly onto the WiFi registration page.
We have since developed SPARK® Media, a Patient Entertainment solution that relieves boredom, provides distraction, comfort and a boost to wellbeing in the form of entertainment to a patients own device.
Historically, UHNM has provided TV channels 1-5 with their previous supplier, however, patients previously had to pay to use oversized, wall-mounted bedside entertainment units.
Whereas now patients are able to access the following services directly from their own device:
- Free TV and Radio (including hospital radio) with 35 channels
- TV guide to see what's on, what's coming and set reminders
- Digitised newspapers and magazines
- Links to:
- UHNM Charity
- Educational health videos
- Tailored dementia aid services such as BBC Music Memories and BBC Reminiscence
- NHS Give Blood
- NHS Health A-Z
- NHS Medicines A-Z
- NHS App
SPARK® Media is available once the patient has signed on to the hospital's guest-access WiFi. After registration, the patient is welcomed by a page specifically designed for the UHNM Charity; promoting the charity's activities and encouraging donations. The user can close this and then navigate to a trust-specific URL where SPARK® Media and all of the above content is located all entirely personalised for the Trust and its patients.
From their own device patients are able to keep in touch with friends and family, educate themselves and entertain themselves for no cost at all.
If half of all the patients used the service a saving of
+£900k would be made over the year
The Numbers
- Competitors charge patients £7.90 per day for use of their patient entertainment platform.
- This only provided access to four hours of television a day, outbound calls, and internet and audiobooks, to name a few features.
- If even half of the 1,328 beds in the hospital had been using their bedside entertainment terminals for 50% of the year, competitor providers would have seen a revenue of £957,322 per annum from UHNM's patients.
With WiFi SPARK, there is no patient expense.
University Hospitals of North Midlands' patient have free and unlimited access to a variety of entertainment including the targeted offerings such as BBC Reminiscence and BBC Music Media Archives for those with dementia, on top of our selection of other services. But the service doesn’t stop with the patients, every area of the hospital including waiting rooms, staff quarters and out-patient housing is covered by the packing meaning everyone benefits from SPARK® Media.
History of University Hospitals of North Midlands
The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust was established on the 1st of November 2014. It runs the Royal Stoke University Hospital, formerly run by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, and the County Hospital (formerly Stafford Hospital). It was formed after the dissolution of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
The Trust was one of the beneficiaries of Boris Johnson's announcement of capital funding for the NHS in August 2019, with the allocation of £17.6 million for three new wards delivering 84 beds.
The Future
The University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust was established on the 1st of November 2014. It runs the Royal Stoke University Hospital, formerly run by the University Hospital of North Staffordshire NHS Trust, and the County Hospital (formerly Stafford Hospital). It was formed after the dissolution of Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
The Trust was one of the beneficiaries of Boris Johnson's announcement of capital funding for the NHS in August 2019, with the allocation of £17.6 million for three new wards delivering 84 beds.
To download a copy of the University Hospitals of North Midlands NHS Trust case study as a PDF, simply click the link below.
Looking for your own solution? Look no further than our SPARK® Quiz, take the quiz today to find your fit.