Digital Signage Experts | Saturn

Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust (WWL) turned to healthcare digital signage specialist Saturn to design and deploy an electronic display screen network across four sites, within an ambitious two week window.

While comparable installations typically take between six to eight weeks to complete, Saturn worked with the Trust to ensure as swift a turn-around as possible in order to meet business deadlines.

“Time was of the essence and we needed to select a suitable partner that could deliver within our timescales,” said WWL’s Web Services Co-ordinator, Andy Savage. “We were impressed by Saturn’s digital signage expertise and their pedigree of clientele but it was their healthcare and public sector experience that ultimately won out. The team clearly understood the particular challenges of an NHS scheme - from the initial budget implications through to overseeing an already tight installation with limited site access due to the sensitivities surrounding patient needs.”

Electronic display screen network deployed in waiting room at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust sites.

Saturn was awarded the £100K project following a successful pilot. Though the Trust had previously used digital signage on a much smaller scale, the flexibility offered by Saturn’s system – along with its ease of central management – were key factors in the Trust’s decision. Working closely with WWL’s marketing and communications, estates, facilities and IT teams to deliver the deployment, large 40”, 46” and 52” digital signage screens were strategically installed in high dwell areas – including the hospital’s state-of-the-art outpatients centre. Content includes a variety of local and Trust-wide information, as well as the latest Trust news, details of infection control initiatives and general announcements.  This is displayed on the latest NEC screens with in-built PC technology - managed by Saturn’s scalable Connectvision software.

WWL’s Web Service Co-ordinator, Andy Savage

“Information sharing is integral to our status as a Foundation Trust and we’re committed to developing clear lines of communication with our staff and the 300,000 plus people we serve across the Borough,” said Andy Savage. “Digital signage offers us a dynamic means to engage our public and with Saturn’s guidance we’re constantly looking at new ways to harness the technology by making incremental changes to the content we deliver.

“The tangible benefits we’ve seen since deploying the solution are testament to Saturn’s expertise and the possibilities that digital signage presents as an effective communications channel. Indeed, the response has been such that we’re now exploring the possibility of rolling-out a further phase project in other areas of the Trust.”

WWL’s internal team is currently working alongside Saturn to facilitate the forthcoming installation of their Connectvision Screensaver software, which will allow rich media content to be scheduled, targeted and published direct to the Trust’s 2,500 existing desktop PCs. This works by displaying the desired messaging as a dynamic looping sequence every time a PC goes into screensaver mode and has already been successfully used by several NHS Trusts, including The University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust (UHB), which was awarded ‘Best Internal Communications’ by The Association of Healthcare Communicators (AHC) in 2009.

Digital signage screens are strategically placed in high dwell areas across three of the Trust’s sites

“Healthcare is one of the fastest growing areas for digital signage,” said Saturn’s CEO, Chris Welsh. “Trusts recognise that there’s a growing expectation for them to openly communicate with their public in a more meaningful way. Patients demand a particular level of patient care and the provision of timely, topical and insightful information plays a part in their overall experience. Similarly, digital signage can make a positive contribution to staff communications by helping to counteract the feeling of fragmentation that is often caused by shift patterns and changing teams working across many different departments.

“Within weeks WWL has already reaped the rewards of investing in the delivery of dynamic, multimedia content – rather than relying on emails, posters and dry information leaflets to get the right messages, to the right audiences, at the right time. Moving forward we will be closely monitoring the impact of the large screens and screensaver solution operating in tandem and look forward to working with Andy and the team to maximise their new network.”