The 5 best hospital locations for digital signage

Thinking about buying some digital signage for your NHS Trust? It can be an expensive purchase, so it’s something you want to get right first time. Planning your screen locations is an important step, and one we’re happy to help with. We’re always down for a site survey, an inspired wander around your hospital or a simple natter over a cup of tea to discuss your brilliant ideas regarding video walls, mini touch screens and holographic projections. We love it, and we’ve had so much practice we’re really rather good at it. So, what in our humble opinion are the five best locations for digital signage in hospitals? The most useful and advantageous spots for a patient information screen? I’m glad you asked. Here’s a handy list we prepared earlier, in no particular order:

1. Entrances
The entrance way is the first impression the public gets upon visiting your hospital. Make it stylish, modern and innovative with the latest technology digital signage has to offer. Entrance ways are a great location for video walls containing welcome messages, way finding messages and critical reminders about infection control and suggestions to use the alcohol hand sanitisers supplied. Digital signage will catch the eyes of many people on their way in, where traditional posters would be ignored.

2. Clinic waiting areas
Nobody likes to be kept waiting. But it can be all the more bearable if you have digital signage displaying up to date and important patient information. Editable messages regarding waiting times and clinic delays are always popular with patients and staff alike, as they keep everyone in the loop about any problems as they arise. We’ve also found that bespoke clinic messages are always in demand – and they’re a great way to keep patients informed about health issues that may affect them. For example, we’ve worked with HIV clinics, sexual health clinics and gynaecology clinics (to name but a few) and they love to collaborate with us to tailor messages to their needs. Each of these clinics has an abundance of important information pertaining only to them, that wouldn’t be appropriate to show on other screens. But, where they once covered a messy notice board in A4 and A3 posters that couldn’t be seen from the back of the room, we now have patient information screens to display any number of essential and significant messages on a loop.

3. Wards
Wards screens are the way forward – they’re currently all the rage when it comes to screen locations. They’re not only useful for patients; staff and visitors also find them to be an effective way of imparting staffing ratios, safety data, ward statistics and information about meal times and staff identification, all important pieces of information that every Trust is now required to publish following recommendations from the Francis Report. Giving each ward a ranking based on the number of pressure ulcers, falls, and infection incidents in the last month and making these numbers public on ward screens helps to keep staff motivated to do the best job possible. It’s also a great way to publicise your Friends and Family Test results and to introduce senior members of nursing staff with a “Hello, My Name is” message.

4. Staff rooms
Patient information screens have been so useful and effective over the last few years that more and more hospital staff rooms have been eager to be fitted with a screen solely for employee use. Safety information, staff notices and education and training messages are just a few examples of the kind of things we’re creating for staff screens every day. There’s also great scope for security information and messages regarding health and safety that wouldn’t be appropriate for screens that are primarily for patient use.

5. A&E
One of the best spots for digital signage in hospitals is the A&E department. It’s a high footfall area and people are usually waiting there for quite some time, so it’s the perfect location for important communications and healthcare messages from your Trust. Our hospital partners are using their A&E screens to publicise the NHS Choose Well campaign, and the other healthcare options open to the public rather than visiting A&E. They’re also keeping patients informed about current wait times, with messages that are fully editable by hospital staff.