Boost for Pinderfields mobile phone signal

Over the last few months, Mid Yorkshire has been working on a project to improve the mobile phone signal across the Pinderfields site.

Poor phone signal has been a long-standing issue at both Pinderfields and Pontefract hospitals. Therefore, a bid for funding was submitted to the NHSX Frontline Digitisation Programme, which aims to provide investment to enable NHS trusts such as Mid Yorkshire to have a certain level of digital capability.

Following the successful bid, and working with supplier Boost Pro Systems, phase one of the project has now been successfully completed. This has involved a designated section of Pinderfields receiving improved mobile phone signal coverage.

The ultimate aim of the improvement work is to ensure a stronger and more reliable phone signal for patients and visitors, as well as staff, to allow for better usgage and functionality on their mobile devices. It will also provide more flexibility to use hospital systems that require signal rather than wi-fi.

The plan going forward is to continue with the improvement work across Pinderfields in phases, working on identified sections, until fully complete in the summer of 2023. Work will then commence at Pontefract.

Laura Mumby, Head of Digital Technologies for Mid Yorkshire, said: “The ongoing project to improve the mobile phone coverage across the Trust is a large and very complex installation, and will take several months to complete. The Pinderfields site has always presented an issue for mobile phone carrier signals within its buildings due to the fabric used in construction and there is a large dependency on wi-fi. Due to the scale of the project, it is necessary to work section-by-section, essentially carving the building up into chunks and working from top to bottom.

“This is an important improvement, especially for our patients, as it means they can use their devices while on the hospital site, resulting in increased patient experience. It also increases the ability for our key partners, such as Locala, social services and the ambulance service, to work efficiently and effectively within our hospital.”

This first phase completion follows on from the initial pilot project, which saw mobile phone signal boosting applied to the Trust Headquarters and Education Centre, and was completed at the end of March 2022. Reports showed the system was working well, with exceptional coverage. Considering the relatively poor quality of the outdoor signal, the ability of the system to process, amplify and transfer the signal into quality indoor coverage provided key evidence of success prior work starting on the main hospital.