Staff, patients and visitors can now use their phones to make calls and connect to data services using EE and soon to be VODAFONE providers.
Of the possible four Major Network Operators (MNOs), only Vodafone and EE have contracted with NHS Dumfries and Galloway.
Graham Gault, General Manager ICT, says: “We have been working with suppliers for many months before the opening of the New Hospital and have now overcome all major obstacles (legal and technical) to get these services available.
“We are pleased to announce that the signals from EE are now live and expecting VODAFONE to be live this week (11th June) offering 2G/3G voice and 4G Data services throughout the hospital.
“The design is for both VODAFONE and EE: 2G, 3G and 4G services to be fully available across the new hospital.
“Patients will be able to use their personal phones for contacting relatives including in the bedrooms and across the wider hospital and staff will also be able to be contacted by family etc as required on their personal devices.
“This development is complemented by the already available Free of Charge Public Wi-Fi environment, which has recently gone through a major upgrade to improve performance.
“Patients will have a choice to either use Public Wi-Fi with some corporate restrictions (streaming movies etc) for data applications/services, or directly access the internet via 3G and 4G services unrestricted as per their supplier terms and conditions.
“This is a major achievement by NHS Dumfries & Galloway supporting patients and staff which we are pleased has been delivered despite significant challenges.”
