To: Freedom of Information
Subject: Freedom of Information request - Replacement of pagers bleeps. in the NHS
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-------------------------Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust,
I am undertaking a study on technology adoption within the NHS.
On 23 February 2019, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care announced that NHS trusts should have infrastructure in place to replace pagers bleeps. by 30 September 2021, with complete phase out of pagers bleeps. by 31 December 2021.
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/health-and-social-care-secretary-bans-pagers-from-the-nhs
Under the FOI Act, please provide the following information, with pagers used as a synonym for bleeps:
1. As at 31 May 2021, how many pagers were in use in your Trust?
2. For the financial year ending 31 March 2021, what is the total annualised cost of pagers broken down by equipment rental, licences, low value equipment replacement, maintenance of infrastructure, depreciation on capital assets and any other costs.?
3. What stage of procurement and implementation is your Trust currently at and what are the achieved and proposed times for the various steps e.g. business case approved, tender issued, contract awarded, implementation started, test system is live/user acceptance testing, deployed system is live.?
4. If a contract has been awarded, which pager replacement system has your Trust selected?
5. What additional features does your proposed or implemented. pager replacement system have, compared with previous capability? e.g. integration with electronic patient record.
6. How many *users* and how many *devices* will the pager replacement system have?
7. What is the estimated total annualised cost of the replacement system broken down by equipment rental, licences, low value equipment replacement, maintenance of infrastructure, depreciation on capital assets and any other costs.?
8. Will the trust retain some pagers for *emergency* communications or will emergency communications be handled by the pager replacement system? If some pagers are being retained, how many?
9. If the pager replacement system fails, what will be used as a backup system? e.g. do you have plans to use staff personal devices?.
10. Is the Trust on course to phase out pagers for *non-emergency* communications by 31 December 2021? If not, by when?
11. Is there a benefits realisation plan or post-implementation monitoring plan in place?
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Trust HQ
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Brockworth
Gloucester
GL3 4AW
—
E-mail: freedomofinformation@ghc.nhs.uk
Website: www.ghc.nhs.uk
DATE: 01/07/2021
Freedom of Information Request – Ref: FOI 133-2122
Thank you for your recent Freedom of Information request. Please find our response below.
1. As at 31 May 2021, how many pagers were
in use in your Trust?
138
2. For the financial year ending 31 March
2021, what is the total annualised cost of
pagers broken down by equipment rental,
licences, low value equipment
replacement, maintenance of
infrastructure, depreciation on capital
assets and any other costs.?
Commercially sensitive.
3. What stage of procurement and
implementation is your Trust currently at
and what are the achieved and proposed
times for the various steps?
We are currently reviewing all our paging
requirements and looking at alternatives, however
removing all pagers is not good practice given the
mobile telephony challenges we face in some of
our geographical locations.
4. If a contract has been awarded, which
pager replacement system has your Trust
selected?
No Contract awarded.
5. What additional features does your
proposed or implemented. pager
replacement system have, compared with
previous capability?
No proposal developed.
6. How many *users* and how many
*devices* will the pager replacement
system have?
No proposal developed.
7. What is the estimated total annualised cost
of the replacement system?
This information is currently not available.
8. Will the trust retain some pagers for
*emergency* communications or will
emergency communications be handled by
the pager replacement system? If some
pagers are being retained, how many?
139 are all emergency use.
9. If the pager replacement system fails, what
will be used as a backup system?
This information is currently not available.
10. Is the Trust on course to phase out pagers
for *non-emergency* communications by
31 December 2021? If not, by when?
The Trust has no non-emergency pagers.
11. Is there a benefits realisation plan or postimplementation monitoring plan in place?
No.
Should you have any queries in relation to our response in this letter, please do not hesitate to contact
me. If you are unhappy with the response you have received in relation to your request and wish to ask
us to review our response, you should write to:-
–
Associate Director of Corporate Governance
Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust
Edward Jenner Court
1010 Pioneer Avenue
Gloucester Business Park
Brockworth
GLOUCESTER GL3 4AW
——-
E-mail: ——-
If you are not content with the outcome of any review, you may apply directly to the Information
Commissioner’s Office ICO. for further advice/guidance. Generally, the ICO will not consider your case
unless you have exhausted your enquiries with the Trust which should include considering the use of
the Trust’s formal complaints procedure. The ICO can be contacted at: The Information
Commissioner’s Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire SK9 5AF.
Yours sincerely,
Freedom of Information Officer
On behalf of Gloucestershire Health & Care NHS Foundation Trust
