Case Study: delivering a secure network solution for the national rehabilitation hospital

project Background

Onnec has designed and delivered a secure and integrated network solution for the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dún Laoghaire, Co Dublin.

The National Rehabilitation Hospital (NRH) provides Complex Specialist Rehabilitation services to patients who, as a result of an accident, illness, or injury, have acquired a physical or cognitive disability and require a specialist programme of rehabilitation. Backed by over 60 years experience, clinical expertise and a solid reputation for excellence, the NRH provides patients with every opportunity to meet their rehabilitation goals through personalised treatment plans delivered by its Consultant-led Interdisciplinary Teams.

In 2018, Onnec were commissioned by an M&E contractor, Jones Engineering, to start work on a standard hospital fit out with the NRH. The initial project was to upgrade the existing cabling infrastructure, and within the scope we placed over 3500 Cat 6A CommScope network points and 164Km of cabling to connect all the parts of the hospital to 10 communication rooms. Due to our expert installation & project management teams, a close and trusted working partnership was developed, and in 2020, Onnec were asked to submit a tender for the networking solutions part of the project. This involved designing and installing a state of the art secure networking solution that connected all the building systems and consistently delivered excellent user experiences for all. After a successful tender process, Onnec commenced the Phase 1 critical infrastructure upgrade, which is now complete and the hospital is open, with a stable network serving 136 bedrooms, integrated rehabilitation, treatment and therapy spaces, secure authentication to controlled sensitive medical data and Wi-Fi network for patients and staff.

We are proud of our 10-year relationship with the NRH, and as the hospital continues with its upgrade plans, we at Onnec are working hard to sustain the level of support service the hospital demands.

our approach

Onnec’s integrated solution is based on wired and wireless products from HPE Aruba Networking with security and cloud-managed services at the heart, not added in post-deployment. For such a critical environment, Onnec worked alongside HPE Aruba Networking and the NRH onsite teams, constantly adapting throughout the design and deployment phases to deliver the solution that is in place today and ready for the future capacity expectations of this digitally focused hospital.

If I pick up the phone and log a ticket, even at 8 o’clock at night, the lead engineer is ringing me within the hour. They are intimately familiar with our firewalls & network, and operational security – having that level of service is fantastic.

Pat Noonan, IT Operations Manager, NRH

Onnec believe the successful selection was based on many factors including our service delivery model and the partnership approach we share with all our clients. Today, we continue to be a delivery partner with the NRH, providing a trusted working relationship with on-site engineers and advising on the strategic improvements that can be made across the technologies to ensure the NRH meets its growth ambitions.

The network we have in this building causes us no problems at all, we couldn’t be happier.

John Maher, Head of information management and technology, NRH

Onnec is an HPE Aruba Networking Gold partner with certified and highly skilled engineers, trained and accredited in deploying HPE Aruba Networking solutions. We have been recognised for our expertise across the entire HPE Aruba Networking product portfolio, delivering next generation technology solutions that securely deliver the best connectivity experience.

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learn more about our work at the National Rehabilitation Hospital

Onnec is a Gold HPE Aruba Networking Partner