Hospital is the first in the country to issue patients with electronic wristbands that track their movements through ‘big brother’ style technology

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A hospital has become the first to issue all staff and patients with electronic ‘wristbands’ to track their movements through ‘big brother’ style technology.

In an NHS trial, the Countess of Chester Hospital, in Cheshire, has more than 4,000 infrared sensors above beds and doorways that read data chips on patients’ and staff’s wristbands to record where they are.

Findings reveal the time from a patient being discharged from the Cheshire hospital to their bed being ready for a new patient is less than two-and-a-half hours, down from approximately four hours as staff can automatically see when their bed becomes available.

The system, known as TeleTracking Technologies, also tells staff about patients’ specific needs and helps them move efficiently around the hospital.

Such technology is used in the US. The cost of the UK project is being withheld.  

Hospital medical director Ian Harvey said: ‘It’s important for patients that they don’t spend more time in hospital than they need to, with everything we do geared towards getting them seen by the right people first time, limiting any factors that can lengthen their stays along the way.

‘[This] will help us do this, allowing our teams to collaborate more seamlessly across A&E, wards, theatres and radiology.’

Yet, some hospital visitors have accused the technology of lacking the ‘human touch’ and making them feel like they are being watched by ‘big brother’.  

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