University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

Our Solution

Following the merger of two Trusts to become University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, the unified team required a WiFi and patient engagement solution that was up-to-date and responsive to cater to the large number of staff and visitors to the Trust each day.

With Bristol’s existing WiFi contract coming to an end abruptly, there was a dire need for a new solution to be deployed quickly. Working with WiFi SPARK, the Trust established a new leased line that allowed for a high-quality WiFi provision to be deployed. Once this superior connection had been guaranteed, WiFi SPARK engineers were able to connect the Weston-super-Mare site over 23 miles away to ensure a unified connection, with a new and improved WiFi provision.

Having over 2,000 access points across the two sites, WiFi users are guaranteed a reliable connection no matter their location.

With any WiFi SPARK WiFi solution, the deployment came with an NHS branded portal to greet users upon their connection, reliable content filtering, user analytics that can be fed directly back to the Trust, and the free patient engagement platform, SPARK® Media.

SPARK® Media is accessible to anyone connected to the WiFi and allows users to access a variety of links on one easy to navigate dashboard. The accessible links include NHS health advice, Trust information, dementia aids, and three Hospital radio links (due soon) which will be a lifeline to the Hospital population.

The platform will allow users to easily listen to the three beloved radio stations that run across the Trust and raise the awareness of the Trust’s charity by proudly displaying banner advertisements and delivering information about activities.

At present, the Trust has deployed SPARK® Unite on 150 devices, for those patients without access to their own technology. This will enable those patients without access to their own device the ability to borrow a tablet to use. This will be managed with the help of the Trust Charities, volunteers, and PALS teams at all sites.

The entire solution is supported 24/7/365 by WiFi SPARK’s UK-based Service Desk. The team is accessible via phone, email and live chat any time of day to ease any technical pressures on staff.