CASE STUDY
Silent Hospital implementation at Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust
Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust (RCHT) provides acute care services to a population of over 500,000 people across Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.
The Trust operates across multiple sites, including the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro, and is at the centre of a significant infrastructure transformation with the planned opening of a new Women and Children’s Hospital within the next five years.
As part of its digital-first strategy, RCHT is piloting smart hospital technologies to modernise care delivery and optimise staff workflows.
Background
Creating a calm and restorative hospital environment is critical to patient recovery and staff performance, particularly in sensitive areas such as postnatal wards. Traditional nurse call systems, which rely heavily on audible alarms, have long posed a challenge by generating disruptive background noise. This has implications not only for patient comfort but also for workflow efficiency and staff wellbeing.
As healthcare providers move towards smarter, digitally enabled environments, there is growing interest in technologies that reduce unnecessary disturbances while maintaining high standards of safety and responsiveness. The Silent Hospital concept seeks to address this by replacing outdated alarm-based systems with intelligent, silent notifications tailored to the needs of both patients and clinical teams.
Challenges
Noise in hospital environments is a persistent concern, particularly in wards where rest and recovery are critical to outcomes. At RCHT’s postnatal ward, the legacy nurse call bell system contributed to high levels of ambient noise, with 57% of patients reporting difficulty sleeping due to disturbances. This noise was not only disruptive for patients but also led to “alarm fatigue” among staff, where repeated and non-prioritised alerts became background noise and were less likely to prompt timely action.
The lack of clear ownership of these audible alerts also resulted in inefficient workflows, often requiring staff to make phone calls or physically search for the responsible colleague. This, in turn, introduced stress into shift handovers, widened communication gaps, and impacted the continuity of care. Moreover, the ward lacked structured digital tools to support handovers or provide real-time visibility of patient requests and staff activity.
The Trust recognised the need for a quieter, smarter approach to clinical communication — one that could improve responsiveness, enhance patient experience, and lay the groundwork for integration with its forthcoming Electronic Patient Record system.
Solution / implementation
To address the identified challenges, RCHT implemented DNV Imatis’ Silent Hospital solution that replaced traditional audible call bell alerts with smart notifications delivered directly to staff smartphones. The platform enabled targeted, silent communication between patients and ward teams, supporting quieter environments and more efficient workflows
Key aspects of the implementation
System integration and development
- Seamless integration with the upgraded Wandsworth iPin nurse call system, which was prioritised in the Trust’s infrastructure roadmap to support the pilot.
- Creation of a virtual, cloud-based iPin test environment, allowing for safe development and testing of messaging protocols without disruption to live operations.
- Secure integration with Active Directory, enabling NHS-compliant user authentication and role-based access.
Customisation through co-design
- A series of workshops with frontline staff, clinical leads, project managers and IT teams shaped the workflows and interface design.
- Development of a ward-level fallback option, allowing staff to revert to audible alerts if required.
- Use of visual dashboards and structured messaging to support patient handover, task coordination, and escalation processes.
Training and engagement
- A comprehensive training package was developed in collaboration with the Trust, including a “train the trainer” model and deployment of shift-based super users.
- Ongoing engagement with staff and patients included:
- Ward signage and patient-facing leaflets to explain the pilot.
- Regular staff feedback forums and surveys.
- Involvement of a Patient Leader and the Trust’s Accessibility Advisory Group to support inclusivity and transparency.
Users / roles involved
- Midwives, nurses, and ward staff: Primary users of the silent alert system via mobile devices
- Ward managers and clinical leads: Oversaw clinical workflows and quality monitoring
- Support services: Indirect beneficiaries through fewer disruptions and clearer communication
- IT and digital teams: Responsible for system security, integration, and ongoing support
- Patients and families: Beneficiaries of a calmer and more supportive care environment
Results and outcomes
The Silent Hospital solution produced a range of measurable benefits, enhancing both operational efficiency and patient experience.
Quantifiable impact
50% drop in noise levels
Improved patient sleep quality and the recovery environment with a Silent Hospital approach
12% increase in sleep quality
A calmer environment to aid faster patient discharge
Average Length of Stay (ALOS)
0.5-day reduction, translating to £74,942 in non-cash releasing savings annually on a single 25-bed ward.
Patient satisfaction
Positive feedback on comfort and recovery environment.
Staff wellbeing
Surveys showed improved working conditions, reduced stress, and better situational awareness.
Workflow efficiency
Fewer phone calls, less corridor running, improved handovers and response times.
Operational enhancements
Silent handovers
Introduced structured digital transfer of care between shifts.
Alarm fatigue significantly reduced
Improving prioritisation and staff responsiveness.
Data-driven improvements
With call bell response data enabling performance tracking and resource planning.
Timeframe
The solution was developed and tested over several months in 2023, with onsite implementation occurring ahead of the European Healthcare Design Conference in June 2023. Within the first months post-implementation, measurable benefits such as reduced ALOS and improved sleep quality were documented. The pilot now forms a foundation for wider adoption across the Trust and the forthcoming Women and Children’s Hospital.
Spread and scalability
RCHT is the first NHS Trust to implement this form of silent alerting. The pilot has attracted national attention, with other NHS Trusts visiting similar installations in Norway and attending presentations at:
- European Healthcare Design Conference 2023
- IHEEM 2024 in Manchester, where RCHT, DNV Imatis and Wandsworth Healthcare shared their success story
The long-term vision is to integrate this proven solution across the Trust’s future hospital infrastructure, including alignment with the new EPR system. Its success is already informing the pipeline of digital projects leading up to the new Women and Children’s Hospital.
Experience first-hand
If you would like to experience this solution for yourself, you are invited to sign up for a visit to the Digital Patient Journey Experience Centre (DPEC) in Woking, Surrey.
Located at Wandsworth’s headquarters, the Centre brings together a comprehensive range of integrated digital healthcare solutions from DNV Imatis and Wandsworth Healthcare, all showcased in a real-world environment. The state-of-the-art facility demonstrates how digital tools can streamline healthcare operations and enhance the patient journey — from arrival through to discharge.
The DPEC features:
- Smart alarm and task management
- Integrated bed capacity and patient flow tools
- Mobile communication platforms for frontline staff
- Patient engagement and self-service technologies
- Smart switches, sockets, thermostats and control systems from Gira, Wandsworth’s parent company
In addition to guided tours, the Centre is also available as a venue for industry workshops and seminars.
Interested in visiting?
To find out more, or to register your interest in attending a tour or hosting an event, please visit the Digital Patient Journey Experience Centre website.
Want to learn how DNV Imatis can improve efficiency in your healthcare operations?
DNV Imatis helps healthcare organisations improve efficiency through real-time information sharing, streamlined workflows and patient journeys, and smarter resource management. Our solutions support staff, enhance patient safety, and improve the overall care experience — while reducing stress and increasing productivity.
Are you curious to find out more, we’re here to help.
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