The Royal Adelaide Hospital (RAH) has been at the forefront of South Australia's fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For members of our telecommunications team who worked on the new hospital project for the past eight years, there is a sense of pride in seeing how the hospital, and specifically our networks, have performed through the crisis. 

A technologically advanced healthcare facility

The RAH is one of Australia's most technologically advanced healthcare facilities, integrating innovations across health, education and research. A key part of our role on the project was the design, construction and installation of information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure introduced to support cutting edge patient care. 

This included the installation, testing and commissioning of:  

• 2 data centres designed for high availability (99.999%)
• 2,000+ wireless location transmitters and readers
• 32,000 network ports    
• 700+ Cisco switches and routers
• 3,300 wireless access points
• 4,200 fixed phones
• 550 wireless phones
• 62 distribution rooms

This infrastructure forms part of the hospital's approach to care which is planned, designed and built around the needs of patients. Some of these features include automated medication technology, state-of-the-art telehealth facilities and digital instrument tracking. 

Engineering Manager Steve Di Cola worked on the project from day one through to the final handover earlier this year. He said that it's been one of the most rewarding projects he has been a part of. 

We've played a key role in supporting the hospital operator and the State Government in being able to use leading-edge technology to support the patient-centric model of care at the hospital.' 

"The way that the hospital has operated during this current crisis, including the networks that we built, has been a sense of great pride for all of us involved," said Steve. 

Read more about our work at Royal Adelaide Hospital here.