This project involved developing a mobile application for Android and iOS platforms designed to display real-time waiting times at local hospitals and walk-in centres. The goal was to empower patients to make informed decisions about which local healthcare facility to visit.
The app enables users to search for sites based on postcode, device location, or locality. In addition to waiting times, it provides details such as opening hours, available treatments, and parking information for each site. Relevant news feeds related to selected sites are also featured.
Integrated with the phone’s navigation system, the app offers turn-by-turn directions to the site’s car park.
The system comprises three main components: the Apache Cordova based mobile app, a server application supplying information to the app, and a web-based maintenance application for updating site information.
Real-time wait-times are either automatically transmitted to the server application via an automated web service or manually updated through an administration system. The app retrieves this data via REST web requests delivered in JSON format.
The administration system features a flexible authentication system to manage user access based on roles.
I implemented a tagging system for news items to ensure the app displays only relevant content for the user’s selected sites or localities.
The app is available on both Android and iPhone platforms. Currently, it includes data for 20 hospital and walk-in centre sites, with plans for future expansion by the owners, University Hospitals of North Midlands.
When the App was rolled out in Wales BBC news reported on it: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-38560567