Smart building innovation in the North West of England

Improving patient flow through the healthcare system

Greater bed capacity, better patient outcomes, and increased staff satisfaction are all benefits of improved patient flow. From triage, admission, and diagnostics, through to treatment and discharge, optimising this journey can reduce wait times and enhance the patient experience.

Patient and practitioner frustrations appear when patient flow is suboptimal – often caused by a lack of care coordination, stretched resources, and decentralised communication systems.

Improving patient flow enhances patient well-being and releases practitioner time to care for patients.

We are exploring ways to facilitate and improve flow through the system– from start to finish (including transfer from ambulance services) – as well as looking at the role of secondary care settings.

Our whole system approach considers staff workflows and communications outside of healthcare– bringing together interactions between patients, friends, family and carers with GPs, social care, and community services in one place.

By exploring real-time location services and tracking patients, we aim to give clarity and insights into the patient journey from beginning to end.

Enhancing building management in acute care

With health services facing increased energy costs, we are exploring how to enhance energy management in acute healthcare settings.

To reduce energy bills for estates teams, we are investigating how hospitals can make smarter use of healthcare estates – by looking at occupancy and utilisation.

Smart lighting could improve patient and staff well-being by mimicking natural daylight and exploring the use of coloured light for therapeutic purposes.

Environmental sensors will improve energy management, such as changing heating and ventilation levels in response to occupancy in a room.

Noise reduction will help us creates a better environment for staff to work in and for patients to recover, working towards the ideal ‘silent hospital’.

Real-time location services will allow for asset tracking of equipment and assets, giving clinicians more time to focus on patients and estates teams the actionable insights to improve resource and smart building management.

The Lister Alliance works with NHS Trusts, practitioners, industry and academia to reshape the future of healthcare technology, creating better outcomes for our patients.

Check back soon for updates on our work in the North West of England.