The time is not fat when doctors would sport gadgets like those in star wars. Moving in that direction Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust has started using cutting edge technology to stay in touch.
This is the first time in the UK that this tech is being tested, which allows staff in different locations to talk over a wireless network.They use badges which are hands free devices, about the size of an iPod nano, and can be pinned to a uniform or worn around the neck. Users can make instant connections with anyone in the hospital simply by speaking their name or department into the device.
"We've only really been experimenting with it so far," the spokesperson told Government Computing News on February 22, 2006. "We hope that it will save time for staff and also it will help increase staff safety because they can use it to communicate if they're in a difficult or threatening situation."
Staff can turn off the devices, supplied by BT and communications supplier Vocera, if they don't want to receive calls and they are unlikely to be used in the operating theatre.
Royal Cornwall is also linking the devices to its workflow management system in order to send porters details of their next job wherever they are in the hospital. This would be helpful in instant communication and solving complex problems at the beck and call of a badge!!!
