Press release – December 21 2018

2018/075

Wye Valley NHS Trust has delivered an early present for patients and visitors to its sites across the county with the arrival of free public wifi.

The service is now available at Hereford County Hospital and the community hospitals it runs at Leominster, Ross-on-Wye and Bromyard.

The Trust switched on the new service – paid for through government funding – this week.

A simple logon process now gives members of the public visiting Trust sites free access to the internet. The free service compliments the service already available through bedside TV units though Hospedia, which means the free wifi cannot be used for video streaming.

“Free wifi has been a question visitors and patients have asked us for frequently in recent years so we’re delighted that the government has provided the funds and we’ve been able to provide this service,” said David Warden, the Trust’s associate director for IT.

“We understand how connected everyone is these days and, particularly in hospital where people want to communicate with relatives and friends, we want to make this as fast and easy as possible.”

Ends

Note to Editors:

• Wye Valley NHS Trust is the provider health services across Herefordshire and beyond. The Trust exists to improve the wellbeing, independence and health of the people we serve. We are the leading provider of health care in Herefordshire.
• By working closely with our partners, we can make good our promise to deliver a quality of care we would want for ourselves, our families and our friends.
• With an estimated annual turnover of around £180 million, we employ around 2,700 plus staff. We aim to build new relationships between our staff, patients, service users and their carers with the wider community.

For further information please contact:

John Burnett, Communication and Engagement Manager, Wye Valley NHS Trust: 01432 372928 or Fiona gurney/Amanda Millichip, Communications officers 01432 355444 ext. 5105.