Case Study: Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital achieves unified, PPE-safe clinical communication and rapid COVID‑19 surge response with Stryker (Vocera)

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital Decommissions Bleeps, Unifies Clinical Communication Amidst Pandemic

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Trust (RNOH) moved into a new Stanmore Building with single‑patient rooms that reduced lines of sight and raised concerns about staff communication. Soon after, NHS guidance to decommission bleeps and the arrival of COVID‑19 forced the predominantly elective hospital to rapidly reconfigure as a trauma and respiratory centre, creating an urgent need to unify and modernise clinical communications.

RNOH replaced bleeps with Vocera wearable devices and a mobile app, integrated its nurse‑call system, expanded Wi‑Fi, and created custom groups and workflows so staff could call by name, role or team. The change sped coordination, enabled runners to communicate without entering isolation rooms (saving time and PPE), supported remote and pop‑up testing operations, provided analytics and resilience, and cut Crash team mobilisation from 2:05 to 20 seconds—an 84% improvement.

Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital

Matt Phillips

Lead Clinical Practitioner, Acute Intervention Team