The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

Challenge

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital only had WiFi access in a privately operated coffee shop located at the front of the hospital, which meant that people couldn’t use the service while in the wards and waiting rooms. As part of its program to improve patient experience across the Trust, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital began to consider what type of WiFi platform would work best for its patients.

Today, patients expect a WiFi connection in hospitals as they want to be able to stay in touch with friends and family during their treatment. The Queen Elizabeth Hospital felt that free connectivity was particularly essential in its Roxburgh Children’s Center, as young patients and their parents want to be able to stream videos and access interactive websites during their stay.

• No widespread WiFi access
• Improve patient experience
• Provide children with access

Solution

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital discussed its WiFi connectivity for patients with a number of providers. However, when they were introduced to Purple’s platform, the team was highly impressed by the functionality and possibilities available to them. Not only would they be able to deliver seamless connectivity across the entire site, but they would be able to distribute important information and updates to those accessing the WiFi. Whether that meant a simple reminder for visitors to wash their hands and control infection while on-site, or distributing emails about winter flu vaccinations post-visit.

The fact that Purple could be installed using their existing IT infrastructure was another benefit that the trust found appealing and more cost-effective. A contract was officially signed with The Queen Elizabeth Hospital at the start of July. In just over 2 weeks, the WiFi service was live and accessible via a dedicated splash page where patients log in using a simple form. The platform was widely publicized around the hospital and on its website to ensure patients and visitors were fully aware of the brand-new service.

• Seamless connectivity across the entire site
• Deliver important communications
• Guest WiFi delivered in 2 weeks

Return on Investment

The hospital’s free guest WiFi has proven very popular, with over 250k visitors accessing the platform every year. In the first full year of WiFi access, a total of 60,000 people logged into the WiFi, and by January 2017, this figure had increased by almost 10%.

Purple’s analytics show that 42% of people accessing the WiFi are aged 45 and older, with almost 20% of this group aged 65+. The marketing team at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital plans to eventually roll out marketing communications to the large database of emails collected by Purple. A number of televisions featuring important information are also set to be installed around the hospital, with plans to use these key messages and updates on the landing page when people access the WiFi.

• 250,000 WiFi sessions per year
• 60,000 unique users added to CRM annually
• 42% of users were aged 45 or older