Spire Health Care
Case Study
We needed a highly secure, flexible networking infrastructure to connect our hospitals, systems, medical data, and people.”
Providing Spire Healthcare with a secure, scalable Networking and Connectivity solution built for the future.
Spire Healthcare is a leading independent hospital group and service provider to the private sector and the NHS. They deliver high levels of care and diagnostics in cardiology, orthopaedics, gynaecology, neurology and general surgery.
With 66 sites spanning the country, they are a principal independent provider of care in the United Kingdom.
The Challenge
Spire’s existing network infrastructure needed updating to improve resilience and to underpin advancements in their communications, flexible working and guest services.
In the competitive healthcare market, state-of-the-art facilities and flexible, secure connectivity are vital in attracting patients, consultants and leading medical staff.
Spire needed a networking and connectivity solution that would evolve with them and support new services and working practices. Core to the project would be the highest levels of security, flexibility and ease of use, along with strict compliance adherence. The project would also include direct connection to the new NHS network (HSCN).
Spire set out to find a partner with accredited competencies in the leading technologies and with the ability to create a bespoke ‘on-budget’ solution for their demanding requirements, and they asked the Convergence Group (CG) to help them.
Bringing it all together
The existing network connecting their 66 sites was struggling to provide the level of remote access, security, reliability and traffic prioritisation needed to support their expanding services.
Following initial meetings and consultations with CG, surveys were undertaken to check cabling, cabinets and power supplies to prepare the underlying fabric for the new infrastructure. Datacentre enhancements were needed to improve resilience and to enable flexible working through secure, authenticated access to data and systems from anywhere, on any device.
“Convergence Group designed and And to boost customer service, they wanted Wi-Fi across the portfolio, with separate, segmented
access for patients, visitors and staff. Based on Cisco technologies, CG initially piloted a proof of concept across five hospitals, and following
sign off they deployed the solution across the group.
A new wide area network (WAN) now connects their 66 sites, along with in-building local area networks (LAN) and secure, segmented Wi-Fi. CG designed and implemented a next generation Cisco Firewall to protect Spire’s virtualised, cloud-connected datacentres. End-to-end resilient connectivity is supported and maintained by CG, and provides access to systems, data and patient records, along with secure flexible access for clinicians and staff working remotely.
The network will also support Spire’s IP telephony and unified communication needs and has the scope and scale to meet future demand for new services.
“We’re now in a position to scale the IT platform to meet our growing business needs without having to re-engineer everything.”
The Outcome
With a complete refresh of core networking, Wi-Fi, security and datacentre infrastructure, along with on-going maintenance support from the Convergence Group, Spire Healthcare now has complete confidence in the IT services that underpin their expanding organisation. Patients, consultants and staff benefit from advanced and secure connectivity that reinforces Spire’s position as a leading UK healthcare provider.
