Patients at James Paget University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust are set to benefit from a new digital bedside service following a partnership with Airwave Healthcare, introducing integrated technology that supports entertainment, communication, and access to hospital services.
The new bedside terminals are being introduced on the trust’s innovative and award-winning Concept Ward as part of the Future Paget Programme. The programme is helping to redesign clinical services that will be embedded within the trust’s new hospital, currently in development through the national New Hospital Programme, with construction planned to begin in 2027.
In single-occupancy rooms, smart TV devices mounted on the foot wall of each bed will give patients access to Airwave Healthcare’s MyCareTV platform, offering television and entertainment comparable to what they would typically have at home. In multi-bed bays, the same service will be delivered via tablets attached to lightweight bedside arms.
The introduction of individual bedside entertainment responds directly to patient feedback gathered through the trust’s NHS Friends and Family Test, which highlighted a desire for improved access to television and entertainment. The service will be funded by the James Paget Hospital Charity for an initial three-year period. Moving away from shared televisions towards personalised bedside access is expected to improve patient experience, reduce feelings of loneliness and isolation, and better support recovery, particularly for patients staying in single rooms.
Beyond entertainment, the system enables access to educational and therapeutic video content, allowing clinical and therapy teams to share tailored recovery information. Patients can also use video and voice calling to stay in touch with family and friends, submit feedback on their care, and access additional services. Planned integration with the hospital’s building management system will enable patients to independently control aspects of their environment such as lighting and temperature, while electronic meal ordering is expected to reduce staff time spent collecting orders, cut waste, and improve patient choice.
Rob Watson, chief nursing projects officer for the Future Paget Programme, said: “Funded through our Hospital Charity, this innovation creates a new digital gateway at the bedside, allowing patients to engage more easily with hospital services. From the outset, our ambition was to deliver far more than an entertainment system. We wanted a flexible, future-ready platform that could evolve into a multifunctional bedside hub and integrate seamlessly with the trust’s core digital systems over time.
“At its heart, this is about caring for patients in ways that reflect modern expectations. Providing every patient with their own digital access helps reduce the stress and isolation that can come with being in hospital, particularly in single rooms, and reflects our commitment to improving the overall patient experience through thoughtful use of technology.”
The deployment supports key trust priorities, including empowering patients to take a more active role in their care, reducing inequalities in access to services, and accelerating digital transformation. Feedback is being gathered from both staff and patients across a range of specialties, including medicine, surgery, paediatrics, maternity, and critical care, to inform future hospital design and service delivery.
Dean Moody, healthcare services director at Airwave Healthcare, said: “The team at James Paget Hospital are showing that designing a new hospital is about more than buildings. It is about embedding technology that genuinely improves experiences for patients and staff, while learning what works best in real clinical environments. We are pleased to be partnering with the Trust and look forward to learning together and exploring opportunities to scale this approach in the future.”
About James Paget Hospital
The James Paget is a vibrant university hospital providing a full range of general acute services including a 24/7 Emergency Department, to a population of 250,000 residents across east Norfolk and north-east Suffolk. The hospital has around 500 inpatient beds and a workforce of over 4,000 full-time and part-time staff, making it the largest local employer on this part of the east coast. Named after the famed surgeon Sir James Paget, who was born in Great Yarmouth in 1814 and was surgeon to Queen Victoria, the hospital officially opened on 21 July 1982. Planning for a brand new James Paget Hospital to serve the local community is underway as part of the National New Hospital Programme.
About Airwave Healthcare
Airwave Healthcare is working with health and care organisations to help them seize a historic opportunity to modernise patient media systems for the better. Its products and services are free to patients, and fair to health and care providers. Known for its flagship product MyCareTV, the company provides a comprehensive range of patient entertainment systems, audio visual systems, healthcare displays, digital signage, WiFi services, and more. Airwave Healthcare has more than 20 years’ experience working with health and care providers to create solutions that stimulate, educate, entertain and inform the people receiving care, whilst releasing time on wards and in other busy healthcare settings for staff.