While healthcare providers have invested heavily in “always connected” platforms, such as Microsoft Teams, to enhance collaboration, the majority of frontline healthcare workers remain poorly served by a communication infrastructure not geared to their needs. This presents a risk to patient safety.
When healthcare organisations calculate the ROI from unified communications (UC) deployments, they typically aren’t focusing on frontline healthcare workers who are continuously on the move, between patients, departments, and critical care areas. Yet, across the U.K., France, and Germany alone, healthcare employs more than 9 million workers[1] — the majority in frontline, clinical roles.
In the wake of the pandemic, many healthcare organisations migrated administrative staff to modern UC platforms, including Microsoft Teams. Yet, standard desktop or mobile clients aren’t suitable for clinical environments where hygiene protocols, complex building structures, integration requirements, and patient safety regulations create fundamentally different demands. Most frontline healthcare workers communicate largely by voice, for instance. If network connectivity drops, infrastructure is breached, or tools aren’t fit for purpose, their ability to provide continuous quality care is compromised.
The clinical process depends on reliable communications
In healthcare, communication devices are effectively an aggregator for the entire clinical process, linking prescriptions, treatment protocols, surgeon schedules, patient monitoring, and nursing procedures on a patient-by-patient basis.
Devices must withstand rigorous disinfection protocols between shifts without degradation. Communications coverage must remain reliable throughout complex building structures, including basements, reinforced areas, and locations with historically poor wireless connectivity. Integration with nurse call systems, patient monitoring platforms and electronic health records is essential for clinical workflows. Location services are particularly acute in a healthcare context.
When frontline workers use consumer devices from manufacturers such as Apple, Samsung, and others, these devices are often limited in specialist settings. Devices that aren’t purpose-built for healthcare environments may fail under the demands of clinical work, be stolen, or become damaged during cleaning with hospital-grade disinfectants.
The resilience imperative
Recent roundtable discussions with U.K. NHS trusts confirmed just how worried healthcare providers are about communication resilience, for example in the event that primary networks fail or are breached. When organisations invest heavily in cloud-based UC platforms, it is often with an assumption that communication capabilities will remain available when needed. But when broadband outages occur (and they do), standard UC deployments are unusable. While for administrative staff this is an inconvenience, it can pose a real patient safety risk for staff on the frontline.
DECT (Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications) technologies are a viable option here because they create dedicated communication channels that persist irrespective of Wi-Fi or LAN status, while also enabling peer-to-peer calling and full UC platform integration during normal operations. DECT systems are also inherently more difficult to compromise than Wi-Fi or cellular networks. This is because they operate on dedicated frequencies, and use their own authentication protocols. In an era of increasing cyber threats to critical infrastructure, this architectural separation provides an additional layer of security.
Regulatory obligations are tightening
The risks for healthcare employers are amplified by evolving worker safety regulations and public and patient safety requirements. Following the Manchester Arena terror attack in the north of England, the U.K. introduced Martyn’s Law, requiring venues accommodating more than 250 people (this definition encompasses many hospital sites) to implement verifiable emergency alert protocols.
In the U.S., Kari’s Law mandates that notifications are routed simultaneously to internal security and emergency services, while RAY BAUM’s Act requires dispatchable location information, including specific room and floor data, not just building addresses[2],[3]. Of course, companies that don’t comply can be penalised. Robust safety measures can help to drive down workplace violence incidents (a growing concern in healthcare) and accelerate crisis response, while making tangible the organisation’s duty of care to staff and patients.
The Microsoft Teams migration challenge
Today, almost two-thirds (65%) of frontline workers use Teams, according to Cavell’s research on workforce mobility. Healthcare organisations are increasingly standardising Teams as their primary collaboration platform. This creates both an opportunity to finally include clinical staff in UC and a challenge. That’s because extending Teams capabilities to mobile workers in specialist environments can present a range of practical issues.
The integration challenge is non-trivial. Connecting DECT systems with platforms, including Teams, requires sophisticated technical implementation and platform certification. When executed properly, the extended rollout enables clinical staff to participate fully in the Teams environment, receiving messages, joining group chats, and accessing shared resources, while using devices optimised for clinical working conditions. Otherwise, hygiene control becomes problematic, battery life may prove inadequate during 12-hour shifts, and noise levels in busy departments render standard audio unusable.
Practical pathways to more pervasive unified communications in healthcare
Successful clinical UC deployment requires native integration that maintains a single identity and presence across all staff types, enables seamless communication regardless of device or location, and ensures consistent administration. Key recommendations include:
- Understanding clinical workflows. Appreciating specific operational requirements will help clarify which technical capabilities matter.
- Evaluating infrastructure honestly. Rather than force-fitting inadequate solutions, acknowledge where purpose-built, healthcare-specific alternatives are required.
- Prioritising interoperability over uniformity. The goal shouldn’t be identical devices for every staff member, but rather that every staff member can communicate effectively within a unified system.
- Building for resilience, not just capability. Communication systems become most critical during disruptions — precisely when they’re most likely to fail if not properly architected. For healthcare organisations, ensuring redundancy is about fundamental risk management.
In 2026, the priority should be to ensure that clinical and frontline staff — the core of healthcare delivery — are no longer treated as an afterthought in digital transformation.
By Nick Muir, General Manager, EMEA, Spectralink
[1] Data compiled from ONS UK Employment Statistics 2023. INSEE, France, 2023. Destatis, Germany, 2023. Available at: https://www.ons.gov.uk; https://www.insee.fr; https://www.destatis.de. Accessed 5 February 2026.
[2] Cavell/Spectralink white paper (2024). Regulatory framework: German BGR 137; U.K. Martyn’s Law (Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act 2025); U.S. Kari’s Law (47 U.S.C. § 623); U.S. Ray Baum’s Act (47 U.S.C. § 615a-1).
[3] Kari’s Law & RAY BAUM’s Act: https://www.911.gov/issues/legislation-and-policy/kari-s-law-and-ray-baum-s-act.
