Croydon Health Services NHS Trust has launched an interactive mapping service to help visitors route their care and plan their visit in advance.
Available through a mobile app and desktop, a range of resources including a website and how-to guides are available for users to access at home.
Dan Rennie-Hale, Director of Quality and lead for patient experience at Croydon Health Services NHS Trust said: “We’re completely committed to making the hospital experience as positive as possible for patients and visitors alike. We’ve worked with local groups to hear their feedback and take action.
“This state of the art system will not only improve the experience of patients visiting Croydon University Hospital by reducing the stresses that navigating a large site can cause, but will also help them plot the quickest route to their care or to the loved ones they are visiting.”
The new mapping service has been translated into Tamil, Polish, and Urdu, with plans to introduce more languages in the coming months. The service will allow users to see turn-by-turn directions, with blue dot guidance showing their exact location within five feet on an interactive map. Users can also use search functionality for department/services, rooms, elevators, restrooms, food and dining, inpatient care areas, and see estimated walking time and distance.
15 kiosks and digital screens have also been installed across Croydon University Hospital.
The service has been created in partnership with Purple, a location intelligence software company. Gavin Wheeldon, CEO, commented: “We’re proud to be partnering with Croydon Health Services NHS Trust to bring the first interactive digital wayfinding solution to a UK hospital. We’ve had many successful implementations in the US, but as a UK based company this partnership is particularly special to us as we’ll be helping to improve the experience of NHS patients here in the UK.
“Our intuitive solution will feel familiar to the patients, visitors and employees of Croydon University Hospital if they have ever used any other type of GPS or web mapping application and we’re sure that it’s going to quickly become an essential and much loved fixture for those visiting or working within the hospital.”
