Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) is trialling new assistive technologies, such as personalised and voice-activated environmental room controls, for patients.

The trust is piloting the technologies from Schneider Electric, which specialises in the digital transformation of energy management and automation.

The technology gives patients independence to control the temperature, blinds, and lighting in their own rooms. This is done via a bedside terminal or by voice activation for patients with reduced mobility. Having autonomy means patients are less reliant on clinical staff to do this for them, alleviating pressure on staff and giving them more time to focus on patient care.

The pilot scheme is being carried out at Linden Lodge, NUH’s current 25-bed neuro-rehabilitation unit. The aim is to trial and evaluate several technology innovations in a live setting before selecting the best options for the new National Rehabilitation Centre, which is due to receive its first patients in summer 2025 following a £105 million investment.

Lisa Yates, Digital Strategy Lead at NUH, said: “All the technologies we are currently testing at Linden Lodge are critical in giving our patients a sense of independence as they receive treatment after serious illness or injury.

“The ability to adapt the conditions in their rooms helps to create a positive patient experience. We’re also finding that giving patients autonomy is reducing pressure on staff too as there are far fewer calls for assistance, allowing them to focus on clinical care and rehabilitation.

“Our work with Schneider Electric is opening up new possibilities and is also helping with the planning for our new National Rehabilitation Centre.”

At Linden Lodge, Schneider Electric has installed its EcoStruxure Connected Room Solutions for Healthcare, a platform designed to provide individual room control of environmental factors. It connects directly with Schneider Electric’s EcoStruxure Building Data Platform and EcoStruxure HVAC, linking and controlling IoT-enabled devices to the platform, securely.

Kas Mohammed, Schneider Electric Vice President of Digital Energy UK&I, added: “We’ve worked hand-in-hand with NUH in a challenging environment. It’s a busy facility, often at maximum patient capacity, so our work had to be carefully planned and delivered so there was no impact on patient care.

“Adding to these challenges were difficulties working in an older building which required flexibility in terms of design and installation.”

Ahead of its National Rehabilitation Centre launch next year, Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust has also trialled equipment tracking and artificially intelligent CCTV.