Case Study: Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust achieves rapid response times and improved patient care with Stryker's Vocera communication system

Largest Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in the UK Improves Critical Communications and Patient Care

Birmingham Children’s Hospital, a 361‑bed centre with the UK’s largest single‑site paediatric intensive care unit, faced growing communication challenges after a 2010 PICU expansion created physically separated wards. With nearly 400 staff and up to 29 active beds, clinicians experienced delays locating colleagues and connecting critical calls, which hindered timely patient care.

The hospital deployed the Vocera wireless, voice‑controlled communication system in June 2014, prioritizing mobile roles and integrating role‑based routing with phones and pagers; a study of 200+ hours of observations and a 50‑member survey measured impact. Response times fell dramatically (bedside: 60s→10s; roaming: 120s→9s; phone connection reduced by ~two‑thirds), staff found colleagues easier to locate, and staff‑initiated emergency events declined from 2.17 to 1.69 per 100 occupied bed days.

Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Adrian Plunkett

Consultant