SCALABLE COMMUNICATIONS PROVIDES THE HEARTBEAT TO NEW ESSEX CARDIOTHORACIC CENTRE

11th December 2007 - Scalable Communications, the independent leader in Secure Convergence solutions and services, today announces the completion of a new network infrastructure to support a trust-wide Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) solution at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Essex, UK, including the new, state-of-the-art, Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC).

The network has been designed to meet the Trust’s current and future performance and availability needs, incorporating headroom for new generation applications and imaging systems.

Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is widely recognised as a high performing organisation, and in 2004 became one of the first 10 NHS Foundation Trusts in the country. The Trust manages three hospitals in the region, treating 335,000 patients per annum, including 105,000 A&E patients.

The new PACS system will enable the delivery of complex radiology and cardiology images across the Trust at the touch of a button, improving efficiency, waiting times and overall patient care.

Trust facilities include the £60million, state-of-the-art, Essex Cardiothoracic Centre, which provides specialist heart and lung surgery for patients from across the UK.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, accompanied by the Health Secretary Alan Johnson and Minister Lord Darzi, officially opened The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre (CTC) in October. The CTC is among the most modern of its kind in the country, with the latest equipment and technology throughout, including state-of-the-art operating theatres and cardiac catheter laboratories. The centre has facilities for 100 patients and the capacity to perform 1,400 surgical procedures and 2,500 cardiology procedures each year. It was the world's first medical facility to make use of LED lights in the operating theatre, reducing heat. .
“The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre at Basildon University Hospital will provide state-of-the-art heart and lung treatment, cardiac monitoring devices, integrated Cath laboratories, video conferencing suites, radiological and cardiac PACS systems,” explains Simon Brown, Managing Director, Scalable Communications.

The Trust went to European Tender for the supply of a new LAN Infrastructure, needing a network that would be resilient to failure, provide additional server capacity, offer new wireless mobility applications and provide additional bandwidth. Shortlisted alongside multiple Cisco integrators, Scalable Communications was awarded the project for its proposal which incorporated multiple Extreme Networks Black Diamond switches, multiple Summit X450e edge switches and Summit X450a server switching, dual Wireless WM 2000 controllers and numerous Altitude Access Points. 

The deployment of the new Black Diamond switches, not only provide the 10Gbps connectivity required, but also five times the switching performance of the previous core switches; at least double the density for 1Gbps switching, increased availability due to a modular operating system (XOS) and scalability for the addition of new locations such as The Essex Cardiothoracic Centre.

The Draeger Infinity Solution, which is the first Patient Monitoring System that allows a monitor to automatically switch from wired to wireless networking while keeping all parameters, was also implemented. As a result, by leveraging the performance and scalability of the Extreme Networks solution, hospital staff are now able to continuously monitor patients – even during transport.

Successful in winning the tender, Scalable Communications deployed the complex infrastructure within tight timescales and budgetary constraints. “In my six years as a Head of IT at various organisations I have rarely seen such capable technicians and account management. Across the board the help, guidance and assistance provided by Scalable Communications and Extreme Networks was not only of the highest calibre but constantly available when I needed it,” explains Ian Beattie, Head of IT at Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals. “The result was not only a successful deployment of a very large wired and wireless network but also the full availability of a range of complex, IT dependant, medical solutions.”

Extreme Networks, Inc.

Extreme Networks designs, builds and installs Ethernet infrastructure solutions that solve the toughest business communications challenges. The company’s commitment to open networking sets it apart from the alternatives by delivering meaningful insight and unprecedented control to applications and services. Extreme Networks believes openness is the best foundation for growth, freedom, flexibility and choice. Extreme Networks focuses on enterprises and service providers who demand high performance, converged networks that support voice, video and data over a wired and wireless infrastructure.  For more information, visit: http://www.extremenetworks.com.

About Scalable Communications Plc
Scalable Communications is a leading independent provider of business communications solutions, enabling customers to increase productivity and reduce operational costs, by exploiting latest communications technologies and consolidating suppliers and bills.

Started in 1997, Scalable Communications has over ten years of strong performance and consistent organic growth from medium and large sized customers from both the private and public sector, including names such as B&Q, Royal Society of Medicine and Cambridgeshire County Council.  With a customer retention rate of over 96%, Scalable Communications can be relied upon to transform an organisations’ business communications.

For more information please contact
Karen Tipping 
Scalable Communications PLC
Tel: 0844 7422010
Email: Karen.tipping@splc.co.uk