University Hospitals of Leicester opts for IBM desktop virtualisation solution

Implementation across 14,000 staff designed to reduce desktop costs by 50 per cent and boost patient care

University Hospitals of Leicester (UHL), one of the biggest NHS trusts in the UK, has deployed an IBM, Atlantis Computing and Centralis desktop virtualisation solution to boost efficiency of more than 14,000 doctors, nurses and administrative staff.

UHL said it opted for a virtualised computing environment as a means of improving desktop performance while also lowering management costs.

The new solution, which comprises IBM's PureFlex System, Atlantis ILIO storage optimisation software and VMware's Horizon Suite, is currently in its first stages of implementation but has already cut capital expenditure cost by 50 per cent per desktop computer. The NHS trust is also saving time as well as money, with system boot-up times reduced to five seconds, a vast improvement on the 15 minutes it used to take staff to start computers.

The improved login times allow doctors and nurses to provide more patient care and UHL estimates the solution will save millions of pounds in operational, management and data centre costs.

"In addition to significantly cutting our operational costs, the improved security and centralised control of our desktop transformation allows us to more easily prove compliance with National Health Service governance directives," said Dave Rose, chief technical architect at UHL.

"Furthermore, the improved performance realised with our new desktop virtualisation implementation is allowing our doctors to spend less time waiting to access their devices and more time with their patients, thus improving the care we provide," he added.

University Hospitals of Leicester incorporates Leicester General, Glenfield and Royal Infirmary hospitals and treats the one million strong population of the Leicestershire area as well as providing treatment for cardio-respiratory diseases, cancer and renal disorders to millions of other patients across the country.