Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital

A Interactive Touch Screen Case Study in a healthcare setting

Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital (LHCH) is a major specialist cardiothoracic hospital and NHS foundation trust. As the largest single site specialist heart and chest hospital in the UK they have a clear vision 'to be the best cardiothoracic integrated healthcare organisation'.



It serves the population of Merseyside, North West England, North Wales and the Isle of Man but also provides some specialist services for patients from all areas of the United Kingdom performing up to13,000 Inpatient procedures and 70,000 Outpatient appointments in 2014/15.

LHCH where looking to improve efficiencies within the Cath Lab facilities where heart stent and other procedures are carried out. Dr Rod Stables a Consultant Interventional Cardiologist at LHCH approached Rapid Technologies as he had heard from other hospitals how Rapid had delivered touch screen systems specifically around patient care. Dr Stables had developed a dashboard that would be suitable in a Cath Lab setting giving clinicians access to a patient safety checklist and key patient data that could be updated in real time giving staff a status at a glance.



In our discussions we discovered there was a wider brief that needed to be met. The customer was not just looking for a panel where they could update and view patient records and history but the Cath Lab teams hold a patient-specific case discussion in a protected period at the start of each individual case and the panels could be helpful in sharing ideas and collaborating in decision making. They found it useful if they could capture briefing notes and annotations over X-Rays and care documentation.

The customer was looking for a panel that was not only touch but needed intuitive pen actions and digital ink that could be accessed across a wide range of care applications.

Dr Stables adds “We needed a solution that was simple to use, functional and didn’t add complications to the process in the clinical areas. Rapid’s recommendations and advice convinced me that Rapid and the SMART Panels were the right solution for the Cath Labs and the Clinicians working there.”



Rapid Technologies recommended SMART 8055i Interactive Flat Panel Displays installed by qualified installers experienced in working in clean environments.

The Hospital IT team would provide PC required to operate it with the various applications from Dr. Stables and internal data systems with the hospital. Rapid assisted in providing software and drivers in advance for IT approval.

In addition to installation services Rapid carried out extensive staff training early in the deployment ensuring staff felt comfortable with the technology.

Rapid visited the site a couple of months later to provide some top up training and found the staff competent and confident users of the solutions.

Since the initial pilot phase this has now been replicated in all of the Cath labs and is being looked at by other departments and hospitals who specialise in this treatment.

Dr Stables said “As is best practice we looked at a number of solution providers, but Rapid Technologies experience in the NHS with their Ward PSAG solution and their consultative approach and all round attention to detail made them the ideal partner to work with on this project.

Their solution more than met our expectations and Rapids training and advice on best practice usage ensured our clinicians took ownership of the system very quickly, with very little fuss. This is now just seen as an interface in the theatre that’s intuitive and easy to use.

Rapid’s approach was very professional and helpful, nothing was left to chance and we feel very confident in recommending them for similar projects.”
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