CSL opens working practice door for Birmingham hospitals

Bromsgrove based convergence solutions specialists, Converged Solutions Limited, has recently been involved to open the door to a new way of working practice for surgeons, nurses and technicians at the Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth hospitals in Birmingham.

CSL are responsible for providing the new wiring infrastructure at the hospitals. It is through this new wiring system that has allowed the introduction of PACS (Picture Archiving and Communication System) to the hospitals.

Unlike traditional methods, which saw doctors and nurses using printed x-rays, a costly and time consuming process, PACS enables images such as x-rays and scans to be stored electronically and viewed on screens, so that doctors and other health professionals can access the information and compare it with previous images at the touch of a button anywhere throughout the hospital, 24 hours a day.

Mr Rob McLean, project manager, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The timescale for the installation of the PACS network was significantly reduced, but despite this CSL’s project manager and engineers successfully implemented the cabling solution to ensure the infrastructure was delivered within the tight timescales.”

PACS technology is a major advance for the Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth Hospitals. Allowing for a near filmless process, PACS still provides all of the flexibility of digital systems. It also removes all the costs associated with hard film and releases valuable space currently used for storage. Most importantly, however, PACS has the potential to transform patients' experience of the care they receive across the NHS, including faster turnaround of radiological report and quicker diagnosis, whilst staff benefit from a smoother, more efficient workflow.

In addition to providing the wiring infrastructure for the PACS system at the Selly Oak and Queen Elizabeth hospitals, CSL has also recently began work on a circa £1 million wiring infrastructure project at

the new £690 million Birmingham city hospital. With works anticipated for completion in September 2010, CSL has been assigned with providing the new hospital with a fibre backbone in excess of 50,000 metres, with over 60 wiring closet locations linked to the backbone.

Operating throughout the UK, CSL has offices in Bromsgrove and Bristol and in their first year of trading enjoyed a turnover of £2.2 million, with 2007 on target to achieve in excess of £5.5 million, demonstrating an average sales increase of 42% per annum over the last two years.

A channel partner for Hitachi Data Systems, CSL is a privately owned convergence solutions specialist, providing network platforms to support data networks, IT, telecommunications, security and storage area networks (SAN).

CSL customers include: Birmingham New Hospital Joint Venture, Barclays, Egg, Dyson, Somerset Fire Service, West Midlands Police and Ambulance Services, Wincore Nixdorf, the Tussauds Group, Falmouth University, Homeserve Plc, University Hospital NHS Trust Birmingham and Balfour Kilpatrick.