The Silent Hospital Project is led by the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) in partnership with University of Plymouth’s Centre for Health Technology, UK engineering company TClarke, and Scandinavian healthcare software company DNV Imatis.

It’s set to transform the Royal Cornwall Hospital’s postnatal ward through introducing a digital integration platform and software suite that reduce noise levels by silencing patient call bells and driving the alerts to mobile devices. And if it proves successful, the smart technology could be rolled out to other areas of the hospital.

Staff often suffer from ‘alarm fatigue’, which means they are less alert to important calls owing to the sheer volume of alarm noises on a ward. It’s anticipated that this new system will allow staff to identify and respond to the needs of patients more efficiently and in a more relaxed atmosphere.

As well as detailing the first phase of the journey to a fully digitally enabled new building, the Silent Hospital talk at the European Healthcare Design Congress will also cover the evolution of a digital health ‘ecosystem’ for Cornwall, bringing together citizens, the NHS, academia, and business to work in partnership.

Samantha Prime, digital health research fellow at the University of Plymouth, and co-ordinator of the ECH Alliance South West Interdisciplinary Technology Consortium for Health and Care Ecosystem, said: “The New Hospital Programme schemes represent a vital opportunity to transform the NHS through digital technology by addressing real-world challenges and delivering end-user focused solutions. Cross-sector and interdisciplinary partnerships are key to the success of this transformation and I’m delighted to be a part of the team.”

Roberta Fuller, programme director for the Women and Children’s Hospital Programme at the RCHT, explained that the Silent Hospital Project is part of its long-term digital strategy.

She added that the development of smart hospital features will enable the RCHT to deliver “outstanding real-time benefits to patients, staff and visitors to the hospital”.

The Silent Hospital Project is the first scheme to be trialled as part of the RCHT’s digital strategy for the new Women and Children’s Hospital Programme, which will complete in 2028 as one of the Government’s New Hospital Programme Cohort 2 schemes.

As part of Cornwall’s largest-ever investments in healthcare, all paediatric, maternity, neonatal and gynaecology services will be provided in one dedicated building for the first time, with the aim of deploying staff more efficiently and improving patient experience.

Construction of the main hospital is expected to start in 2025, subject to Treasury approval of the scheme’s outline business case.