WIREDGOV

Throughout the UK public sector, ISDN has rapidly been overtaken by far superior VoIP technology, with relatively high-by-comparison ISDN30 line costs increasingly becoming a factor. In 2018, the IT team at Epsom and St Helier University NHS Trust knew VoIP was the only way to go. The challenge then became one of finding the right supplier.

In this respect the Trust was well placed. Its Head of Telecoms, Simon Owen, also serves as joint chair of the National Performance Advisory Group, a national working group dedicated to driving efficiency and innovation throughout every facet of the NHS, including telecoms and IT. This has given him an unusually broad insight on the market place. Key to enabling SIP at the trust was SIP trunks and these were available from many suppliers. But after a searching evaluation Simon and his colleagues chose market leader Gamma. 

The new system now supports some 4,000 extensions and handles a large volume of calls, many to and from patients, and many being dealt with by the trust’s call centre. Another big plus has been bundled call minutes totalling more than one and a half million to landline and mobile numbers.

“We felt Gamma offered the best deals and they came across as a good firm to deal with, a genuinely honest and trustworthy organisation”
Simon Owen, Head of Telecoms, Epsom & St. Helier University NHS Trust.