Medical focus in an instant – from login to care in seconds

Always-on care teams in a 24/7 environment

The hospital operates within a complex, non-stop 24-hour environment. Staff work in shift patterns and patient care often involves multiple specialists, moving around the hospital, working in harmony. 

The organization recognizes the need to move quickly and efficiently to deliver the highest standards in patient care. The primary objective of its IT strategy is ensuring that care teams have reliable, secure, and lightning-fast access to critical patient systems. It wants to maximize the time clinical staff spend delivering care and reduce the time IT teams spend managing technology. 

Today, the hospital manages approximately 5,000 endpoints, including tablets, laptops, workstations-on-wheels, imaging equipment, and patient monitoring systems. All are connected to the network; all represent a potential security vulnerability. 

“We’re constantly looking at what’s new and what can help us deliver better patient care,” says the hospital’s infrastructure specialist. “New hardware continues to be added to the network.”

Seamless mobile working for clinicians  

The digital environment runs predominantly on Windows, and threats are mainly targeted at Windows devices. Clinicians using Windows devices had to wait up to 10 minutes for their profile to load after logging in or switching users. This time spent waiting meant less time looking after patients, an unacceptable delay in high-pressure areas, such the Accident & Emergency Department.  

“In high-pressure, clinical environments, every second counts. When staff are spending time waiting for Windows profiles to load, it’s not just frustrating, it can affect patient care.”  

The integration of UniconOS and Imprivata OneSign reduces secure sign-on to seconds. Clinicians can now go up to a workstation, tap their badge, and the system immediately loads their UniconOS session and their Citrix desktop. If another clinician taps their badge, the first user’s session is disconnected, and the new user is logged in instantly. The user’s session follows them to another workstation, allowing them to resume work immediately without having to start from scratch. 

“That’s time spent caring for patients, not waiting for a screen to load.”

Central platform drives digital transformation  

The beta test is starting small, with just 10 Windows devices moving across to UniconOS in the first phase. The plan is to have 500 devices in the most critical of emergency wards on UniconOS in the next 12 months. 

The move to UniconOS, a lightweight hardened OS, helps address increasing IT complexity. The UniconOS Management console provides a single pane of glass management solution for the IT team. This gives a clearer view of the environment, enabling centralized monitoring, the pushing of updates, and allowing first-line IT staff to fix issues sooner. From a security standpoint, the write-protected OS secures endpoints and prevents unauthorized changes. 

The importance of the project, and assurance of Citrix support, gave the IT team confidence in going early on beta testing. 

Wringing maximum value from IT investments  

The hospital is focused on investing in technology that can deliver value throughout the patient journey by enhancing productivity and reducing future IT costs. The UniconOS solution offers immediate value because it is included in Citrix platform licensing, removing the need to license a third-party operating system for endpoint hardware. The beta program has also allowed the hospital to see real-world results before investing in a full-scale adoption.  

This strategic choice also supports sustainability goals and reduces total ownership costs by allowing the organization to repurpose existing x86 hardware, extending the lifecycle of devices by turning them into secure thin clients. While specific metrics are pending, the hospital anticipates significant cost savings from avoiding expensive Microsoft Licensing. In addition, UniconOS on certified low-power hardware delivers up to 50% energy savings and supports Net Zero goals.  

The success of this beta testing is being closely observed by neighboring Trusts. By validating this unified approach, the hospital is paving the way for regional adoption, demonstrating that its IT infrastructure can enable quicker adoption of essential clinical technologies for the benefit of patient care. 

“Being an early adopter of Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops with Imprivata on UniconOS puts us at the forefront of clinical mobility and security. It’s not just about faster logins—it’s about giving our teams the freedom to deliver care without technical friction. We’re proud to help shape the future of healthcare IT.”