National Rehabilitation Centre partners with Ascom to deliver patient care technology

The NRC is a 70-bed, state-of-the-art specialist rehabilitation centre for NHS patients who have experienced a life-changing illness or injury and will be run and staffed by Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH).

This collaboration with Ascom aims to enhance patient care, improve staff safety, and streamline clinical workflows.

As part of the project, the NRC will implement Ascom’s smart nurse call system with speech functionality, enabling direct, two-way communication between patients and NRC staff. The system also integrates activity sensors into staff mobile devices, with software running on iOS, ensuring seamless monitoring and faster response to patient needs.

Under the agreement, Ascom will serve as the unified provider for alerts, consolidating critical notifications into one reliable platform. The new system will also integrate with NRC’s staff safety system, strengthening safety measures for healthcare professionals.

The partnership further includes the rollout of patient engagement terminals, empowering patients with greater involvement and connectivity during their rehabilitation journey.

Lisa Yates, Senior Commercial Analyst for the National Rehabilitation Centre, said: 

“We are pleased to be working with Ascom as a strategic partner in delivering communication and safety technology at the NRC. The smart nurse call system is particularly important as it helps us to be a ‘silent hospital’ by reducing the number of alarms sounding in the wards and clinical spaces."

“Silent hospitals have proven to be of great benefit to both staff and patients, reducing stress, promoting recovery, and providing a calmer working environment. This technology also contributes to greater efficiency as our staff can respond to the needs of the patient without going to their room first, speeding up the whole process.”

Tim Painter, Business Development Manager UK&I, Healthcare Digital at Ascom:

“Ascom is delighted to collaborate with Nottingham University Hospitals and the National Rehabilitation Centre team on this prestigious project. Together, through co-design, we are defining how technology can enhance patient safety and transform the overall care experience."

"The smart nurse call system will ensure patients remain digitally connected to caregivers within the new single-occupancy room layouts, offering a 360-degree view for full visibility of patient needs. This enables timely access to critical information and supports early intervention when patients are at risk of harm."

"Patient alerts at the point of care not only help nurses respond faster and more efficiently but also reduce disruptive noise around staff bases and corridors, creating a calmer care environment. We are excited to see how this technology evolves in the coming years and sets the benchmark for ‘what good looks like’ in digitally enabled smart hospitals.”

By combining advanced clinical communication tools with a patient-centered approach, the NRC and Ascom are looking to set a new standard for rehabilitation care in the UK.