Case Study of The Beeches Nursing Home

Overview
Nowadays, it’s difficult to imagine life without technology. For most of us, it increases productivity, saves time, keeps us organised, and dare we say it, makes our lives a little more enjoyable.

But when the warning lights start to flash and connections begin to fade, it can suddenly feel like we’re spiralling in a techy vortex of frustration and confusion – all hope is lost!

Sound familiar?

If it does, you’ll know exactly how Sarah at Beeches Nursing Home felt when her IT systems were the cause of an intergalactic headache for her entire team of carers.

With that said, hold onto your Klingon coffee because we’re about to put this baby into hyperdrive.

The problem

For many years, Sarah and her team depended on remote IT support to meet the demands of their busy nursing home.

But when the building was extended and residency increased, the current systems, connections and infrastructure couldn’t keep up.

It was time for a change – and that all started with a FREE on-site audit by a fully qualified Northstar engineer.

On inspection, we discovered Sarah’s team was working with outdated Windows software, inadequate hardware, unreliable Wi-Fi connections, and eroded cabling in more places than we care to mention!

If that’s not enough to make you fire up the onboard phasers, Sarah was also paying purse-emptying software fees for enterprise-level subscriptions designed for companies with over 250 staff members.

That’s it, we’ve seen enough! Let’s get to work…

"Change is the essential process of all existence."

- Mr Spock,Star Trek: The Original Series

What we did

With minimal disturbance caused to both staff and residence, our team got going by replacing redundant hardware and eroded cables with brand new, reliable equipment.

Then, we extended the network connection throughout the nursing home by installing CAT5e cabling, providing staff and residents with a fast and secure network connection in any room, on any device.

With a reliable network connection in place, it was time to take care of those eye-watering monthly subscription fees for good! So, after updating all software, we switched Sarah and her team to appropriate Microsoft Office 365 and anti-virus packages.

Finally, we made sure the nursing home’s data was secure and GDPR protected by backing up all files through our very own Northstar cloud system.

Peace of mind restored!

Key takeaways:

Wi-Fi signal boosters are not recommended for buildings with thick internal walls.
Check your software subscription package is the right fit for your business.
Perform all software updates as soon as you’re prompted, or, better still, get an IT support company to do it for you.

“We’re nurses, not IT engineers, and when something goes wrong, we need it fixed quickly. With our last IT company, we’d only receive remote support, but this is not the case with Northstar.

If there’s an issue, an engineer is here within the hour putting things right – nothing is a problem.

It means we can get on with caring for our residents knowing we have a friendly and reliable IT support company keeping our systems running smoothly.”

Sarah Wyatt, Company Secretary and Director, The Beeches Nursing Home

Want to find out how we can save you money on your IT services? Book your FREE audit with a Northstar IT engineer today.

KEY:

Vlog about using a professional to cable your network, watch here.
Vlog about wireless verses wired networking, watch here.
Vlog about a serious ‘don’t’ when it comes to networking your care home, watch it here.