New data centre will support digital transformation at Mid Yorkshire

A brand new, state-of-the-art digital data centre (DDC) has been implemented at the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust’s Dewsbury and District Hospital.

The DDC is a new purpose-built facility located on the Dewsbury site and will house around 300 servers, together with storing and managing data, that will support the 24/7 operation of a vast range of digital systems that underpin clinical and non-clinical activities at the Trust.

The new DDC replaces Dewsbury’s former outdated data centre. This was no longer fit for purpose, with no potential for expansion due to being housed within an existing hospital building. Airconditioning issues also resulted in outages during summer months caused by excessive heat.

Although many of the key benefits will be ‘behind the scenes’, the DDC will provide crucial improvements to the Trust’s IT-related infrastructure and performance. This will realise a host of benefits for both patients and staff.

The DDC’s increased system resilience will allow for a more safe and secure service to be provided by Mid Yorkshire’s Digital Services department. This will mean fewer unplanned outages and a substantial reduction in system downtime. The net benefit is significant improvement in the safety of our patients, and the resulting fewer delays and cancellations will improve patient experience.

This also means more robust cyber security for the organisation. Threats from cyber attacks are extremely prevalent across the NHS and therefore having preventative measures in place to protect against such risks is vital.

Additionally, increased capacity – both now and for the future – will enable the implementation of ever-advancing technologies to be supported, as well as allowing existing services to be developed further.

Installing the data centre has been a complex operation, with a 300-tonne crane being required to install the new facility on site. Collaborative working from teams across Mid Yorkshire has been key to the project being successfully delivered, which has included the operations and projects teams within Digital Services, together will colleagues from Estates. External partnership working with suppliers such as Dell, Schneider, Daisy and BCS has ensured the project was managed effectively and with the necessary expertise.

Mat Ramskill, Head of Digital Platforms, said: “Digital transformation in healthcare is a key focus for the NHS and for us at Mid Yorkshire. The new digital data centre will support the delivery of this across the Trust by enabling us to take full advantage of all appropriate technological opportunities.

“The data centre is essential to ensuring key services and applications are available and efficient 24 hours a day.”

Kat Poole, Associate Director of Infrastructure: Digital, added: “It is vital that we meet the challenge of improving patient outcomes and experience through maximising the potential benefits of new technologies. Future-proofing our digital infrastructure with leading-edge support will be crucial to achieving this.

“It has been a fantastic team effort with colleagues working tirelessly to create this new state-of-the-art facility that will benefit patients and almost every single colleague across the Trust.”