Mobile phone boosters for Sandwell super hospital over signal blackspot fears
Mobile phone signal boosters are set to be installed at an upcoming super hospital for the Black Country amid the risk of it becoming a "blackspot" for coverage.
Health leaders said a distributed antenna system is needed at the Midland Metropolitan University Hospital, due to open in spring 2024, over signal concerns.
It is because of the "construction design and materials" involved in building the site in Smethwick which will block phone signal unless boosters are installed.
And it will cost the Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust around £190,000 a year for the seven-year scheme – totalling up to £1.3 million, a meeting heard.
Chief executive Richard Beeken said: "We're building a state-of-the-art hospital which, for some historical reason, did not have a mobile phone signal solution in it.
"We're trying to secure external funding and will continue to try to secure external funding, but the worst case scenario if funding is not secured would be to pay £190k (per annum) – which is not insurmountable."
Martin Sadler, executive director of IT and digital at the trust which runs Sandwell General Hospital, told a board meeting they were building a "metal box which will prevent any mobile phone signal coming in when it opens".
"We have identified a solution which is for a distributed antenna system, which will allow everyone to get a mobile signal in the majority of areas within the hospital," he added.
Cell phone signal strength is measured in decibels (dBm) and signal strengths can range from approximately -30dBm to -110dBm and the closer that number is to zero, the stronger the cell signal.
Anything better than -85 decibels is considered to be a "usable signal", with EE advising health leaders the signal strength expected outside the building would be -90dBm at the rear and -92dBm at the front.
And when moving inside the building the signal could drop as low as -112 dBm, almost 40dBm away from what is seen to be an acceptable signal strength, a report to the health board highlighted.
Dinah McLannahan, chief finance officer, said the move was a "must to ensure Midlands Metropolitan University Hospital is not a mobile phone blackspot" and highlighted it was money they "don't have at this point in time" – but was not a "hugely significant" cost moving forward.
The state-of-the-art hospital had been due to open in 2018 but has been met by a series of delays. It will now open in spring 2024 but no exact date has been revealed.
