Healthcare VPN to expand through England's NW

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) connecting healthcare sites in north-west England is set to double in size three years after the scheme was launched.

The high-capacity network, dubbed Trustnet, was set up by Norweb Telecom to provide voice, data and multimedia services between NHS Trusts, medical colleges and other related sites.

According to Duncan Brown, Trustnet manager for Norweb, the network "allows local hospitals in and around Manchester to communicate with each other on a more cost-effective basis".

According to Brown, the VPN currently handles mostly voice traffic. "You could use it to access the Internet, but most Trusts don't choose to," he said. "The NHS is very security conscious with data, and Trusts mostly use the NHSNet."

Trustnet is not currently integrated with NHSNet. "The problem is that NHSNet is based on x400, while everything else is TCP/IP," said Brown.

The network is being extended to include The Christie NHS Trust, Crewe Hospital, Bury Healthcare Trust, South Manchester University NHS Trust and University Hospital Aintree.