The World at Bedside

Health Management Technology, Oct, 2001 by Dave Hampton

James Brindley School in England brings education to the bedside of children too sick to attend school.

It is a small world, after all--and for hospitalized children and teenagers, it can also seem isolated and cruel. Set apart from their peers, unable to socialize normally and unable to attend regular school activities, these youngsters can experience the double or triple whammy that serious illness entails.

But information technology is changing that. While IT may not always reduce a lengthy hospital stay, it can go a long way toward normalizing a youngster's daily experience and bringing a world of friendship and learning direct to his bedside.

The James Brindley School, located in Birmingham, England, provides ill or injured children and teenagers who cannot attend school the opportunity to continue their education. School services are available to youngsters between the ages of three and 19, and to pregnant teenagers.

Created three years ago from a number of small, isolated units across the city, the school now forms a tightly-knit network of Birmingham-based educational institutions. Currently, James Brindley School consists of eight hospitals, three teaching centers and home teaching. Collectively, there are 12 sectors in the school with a staff of about 150 serving 400 to 600 children a week.

The largest of these sectors and flagship of the school is located within the Diana, Princess of Wales Children's Hospital in Birmingham. The hospital, with its world-renowned reputation as a Center of Excellence in liver transplantation, receives and cares for children throughout Europe.

The hospital takes a holistic approach to patient treatment, emphasizing the relationship between healthcare and education. Because of this holistic approach, the team of 26 teachers and support staff within the hospital plays an integral role in the children's care. Staff members actively pursue the most appropriate educational opportunities, ensuring the continuity of this vital component of each child's treatment.

While on the surface it may seem dramatically different from our everyday image of a child's school day, the school operates in typical fashion--offering each child a full day from 9 a.m. until 3:15 p.m., with a regular schedule of classes and activities. Although a formal timetable is imperative to the educational success of its students, the school's curriculum is flexible enough to accommodate the needs of both long- and short-stay pupils with a variety of conditions, ranging from psychiatric problems to general surgical needs. In some cases, the school must be prepared to offer education to pupils for in excess of two years.

Education at the Next Level

Accommodating the educational needs of patients who are sometimes too sick to move from the hospital room, or are in confinement due to immunity system weakness posed a tremendous challenge to the hospital. While the school was serving small groups in its traditional classrooms, other students were receiving one-to-one teaching from their ward teacher.

The school recognized that moving pupils from one-to-one teaching to group sessions would greatly improve their educational success and improve the delivery of the curriculum. In February 1998, after receiving a grant of 250,000 [pounds sterling] from the Masonic Trust for Boys and Girls, the school chose to implement a virtual classroom by utilizing videoconferencing equipment.

Fortunately, at the time plans for the new information communications technology system were under development, the hospital was in the process of moving to a new location. The school requested that the builders incorporate the school's cabling needs into plans for the new structure. This wiring allowed for a data point at every bed with approximately 250 points altogether throughout the school.

The school currently utilizes Pentium II PCs. Collectively, there are 35 networked PCs, three networked laptops and 10 sets of cordless mice and keyboards which work through an infrared remote control.

The technology enables the school's pupils to take part in classes, as well as access other educational opportunities, and easily communicate with other students in the hospital. Students previously too ill to physically attend class are now connecting to lessons and other students via a data point provided at every hospital bed.

Implementing video conferencing technology was critical to the success of the school's educational mission. Technically, the school currently utilizes the PictureTel Livelan H.323 video conferencing system with five multipoint cameras, using an internal network or a dual ISDN line. But more importantly, using video conferencing technology brings the students together to learn and socialize. Video conferencing has allowed us to broaden our curriculum and to reach far more patients. It has given children who are already educationally disadvantaged, due to their illnesses, the chance to explore new opportunities and experiences that they wouldn't get at their own schools.