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David Meyer

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Communication Breakdown

Communications from the world of, er, communications. And other stuff.

Thursday 22 February 2007, 3:55 PM

BT wins Recycler Of The Year award

Posted by David Meyer

Wow! BT's bringing out some kick-ass communications badges for doctors in Nottinghamshire! "Staff at Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust in Nottinghamshire are pioneering the use of a new communications system from BT," begins the press release.

"It allows users to speak to each other instantly anywhere in the hospital through a voice-controlled, wearable badge weighing less than two ounces. Staff simply have to say a person's name, department or role to be automatically connected to the appropriate person and can speak to them just like on a normal phone." Awesome!

Except... wait. "Pioneering"? Let's dig a bit here. OK, so BT's partner in this is Vocera... let's have a look at their website... hang on, this isn't pioneering at all. These badges have already been deployed in libraries in Minneapolis (July 2006), hotels in Austin, Texas (June 2006)... oh dear, it gets worse... back to the UK now, and back to the NHS: Royal Liverpool & Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust (June 2006), "Trail-Blazing" Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (February 2006) and, just to cap it off, a hospital in St Paul, Minnesota, in July 2005 (yes, BT brought it to America first, a year and a half ago).

Now BT, back to today's press release - accidentally (?) dated one year ago - about Nottinghamshire's "pioneering" badges. Do carry on...


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