New Zealand IT specialist Inde Technology has been appointed to the coalition designing the IT infrastructure for the country’s first digital hospital.
Inde’s design for the new 421-bed Dunedin Hospital, the largest ever health infrastructure project in the country, focuses on enabling a range of internationally-proven digital technologies to be integrated. Its scope covers everything from managing inpatient and outpatient flow to IT network design, cloud infrastructure, telephony, audio-visual design and modern features like real-time digital location and wayfinding technologies.
Personalised wayfinding uses patients' and visitors’ smartphones to communicate with the building systems via a geolocation app. This can be tied into the digital signage platform to trigger responsive signage that guides people directly to their destinations.
A unified digital platform for all hospital systems can benefit all its users, from patients to visitors. Rik Roberts, Chief Technology Officer at Inde, said the company’s role is to harness technology to deliver the best possible patient and community health outcomes.
“This isn’t about employing technology for technology’s sake – this is about changing the way healthcare is delivered to improve health outcomes and enable innovation for the benefit of patients, while also giving hospital workers better experiences,” he said. “To be involved in such a landmark project for New Zealand is a huge honour and we’re working alongside our partners to deliver a truly outstanding blueprint for healthcare in this country,” he said.
Inde Technology is one of four companies appointed by Southern District Health Board to lead the initial design phase of Dunedin Hospital, collaborating with civil engineering consultancy WSP, smart building specialist Torque IP and developer Lendlease.
As a leading provider of innovative technology outcomes in New Zealand, Inde Technology has significant experience supporting health boards around the country with specialist healthcare solutions. Its IT designs also include the newly-opened Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre, but Dunedin Hospital will be the largest development to date.
The Inde project team is working closely with staff at the existing hospital to understand their clinical needs and aspirations, and how technology can enable them.
“For us, the new hospital isn’t simply a piece of high-tech infrastructure – it represents the future of hospitals in New Zealand, where thoughtful, modern design and innovative technology are harnessed to deliver improved health outcomes for patients and provide more tailored support to health professionals. We’re very excited to be creating a facility of this calibre for the residents of our region, and that’s why we’re putting such emphasis on getting the planning right,” says Lance Elder, Director, Digital Transformation at Southern District Health Board.
The Dunedin Hospital project is set to be delivered in several stages, expected to last around 10 years. Construction is planned to get underway in 2025, overseen by the Ministry of Health.
“For our team in Dunedin, this is the opportunity of a lifetime," said Inde Technology Otago and Southland Regional Director, Jonathan Elliott. “This is a project that will have a significant impact on people’s lives while improving wellbeing in our community for decades to come, and we can actually see the site from our office, which brings it home that we need to create something amazing that all Otago residents can be proud of. So our job is to help our partners and clients understand what’s possible.”
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