Home >> Case Studies >> Health FSO

Health FSO

Wireless Links Keep London Hospital Online After Arson Attacks

With the implementation of four wireless network links, University College London Hospitals has ensured it's critical network connections remain intact.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH), provides acute services to the local populations of Camden, Islington, Westminster and the City of London. The hospitals which make up UCLH are: University College Hospital, Eastman Dental Hospital, Hospital for Tropical Diseases, National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, The Heart Hospital and The Royal London Homeopathic Hospital. With 6,000 staff treating over 500,000 outpatient appointments and admitting 100,000 patients each year, UCLH is considered one of the most complex NHS Trusts in the UK.

Challenge

Being at the forefront of academic research and providing medical services for thousands of Londoners a year, UCLH required resilient connections to a number of buildings across the capital. Phil Parrot, Infrastructure Programme Manager, explained the event which prompted the Network Team to look into redundant wireless solutions. In 2001 there was a major fire in one of the hospital buildings which resulted in major damage to fibre cabling and a loss of connectivity for over 48 hours whilst a team worked to reconnect the network.

In 2004, AIT Partnership Group lead wireless consultant Simon Round met with Mr. Parrot to discuss the project specification to implement redundant wireless link options across the Trust. 'ULCH is a modern high tech hospital', said Mr. Parrot, 'so we required a robust redundant network to work in conjunction with our dark fibre network'. For the initial installation it was proposed by AIT to implement two Lightpointe Flightstrata links between UCLH Main Tower and the Neurology Building & UCLH Tower and the Heart Hospital. This was to be the start of a major rollout of redundant links across the Trust.

These two links were two of four to be implemented and maintained over the next five years until present day, with AIT engineers providing 24-hour phone support and next working day on-site response.

Solution

AIT Partnership Group's engineering team have implemented the solution using their technical expertise in site surveys, link planning, installation and maintenance. Shane Sanderson, Wireless Engineer at AIT, has been involved in all aspects of the project. Mr. Sanderson recommended implementing Lightpointe Technology between the sites. 'The Flightstrata links offered us the best options for going the distances required (between 500 - 1200m), whilst also providing full Gigabit throughput', said Mr Sanderson.

The third link was implemented in March 2008 between UCLH Tower and Bonham Carter House and then in October 2008, AIT installed the fourth link between ULCH Tower and the Hospital Trust's Finance Building at 140 Hampstead, which was to be the primary link between these sites.

In July 2008, the hospital was the target of an arson attack which caused extensive damage to a number of areas around the site. 'The links saved us. When the cabling went down, all the traffic was just picked up by the wireless and no one even noticed', said Mr. Parrot. For the next 48 hours, the wireless links installed by AIT handled all traffic between four of the major hospital buildings, whilst the cabling was being repaired.

Result

For UCLH, having the redundant links in place has given them piece of mind. 'Having them implemented gives us a feeling of security as in any sort of emergency, we know they are reliable and up to the task,' said Mr. Parrot.

'In the time we have had the links implemented, AIT have always responded quickly to any issues we have experienced as well as providing exceptional service throughout the time we have had a relationship'.