Vaccination centres get fibre boosters

ICT industry experts have once again risen to the challenge of helping to beat Covid-19 by connecting over 110 NHS vaccination centres across England and Wales to full fibre broadband.
 
BT says engineers and IT specialists from its Enterprise business and its infrastructure partner Openreach have worked at ‘breakneck’ speed to get sites connected within a matter of days.  Reliable Wi-Fi connections are essential in helping the NHS roll out the vaccines as quickly as possible, allowing clinicians to easily access and update patients’ vaccination and medical records via secure mobile devices.
 
Rob Shuter, CEO of BT’s Enterprise business, said: “We know how vital high-speed, reliable and secure connectivity is for the smooth running of our essential public services, and that’s never been more important. We’ll continue to prioritise urgent work for the NHS to help their incredible front-line staff to save lives and protect the public.”
 
BT’s Ian Hammond, recently awarded an MBE in recognition of his work in connecting vital NHS services during the pandemic, commented: “Since the start of our roll-out during the Christmas period, our teams have put their heart and soul into building a completely new network to connect these NHS sites, with more than 50 people and 220 man days of engineering visits so far to complete the work. With more orders being placed by the NHS for additional sites – often at short notice – we’ll continue to play our part in supporting the NHS in accelerating the roll out of the vaccine.”