The Brief
Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) provides national technology and data services for NHS Wales, supporting both clinical staff and administrative teams. As part of an ongoing modernisation effort, a meeting room upgrade was required to better serve Multi-Disciplinary Teams (MDTs) working across the organisation.
The aim was to create a setup that supported Microsoft Teams video conferencing, digital collaboration, and real-time content sharing, with minimal onboarding or retraining required for staff.
System Design and Deployment
Two Microsoft Teams Rooms (MTR) environments were created, focused on providing a consistent experience across both physical and remote participants. Familiarity with Microsoft Teams and Windows OS was a key consideration in the selection of hardware and interface.
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A 50” Microsoft Surface Hub 2S, mounted on a roaming Vision stand, was deployed as a portable collaboration point. This unit could be moved between spaces as needed, allowing flexibility in how rooms were used throughout the week.
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In the main meeting space, a wall-mounted 85” Surface Hub 2S was installed to support larger group sessions. The interface remained consistent across both devices, avoiding the need for additional training or change management.
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Logitech Rally camera systems were integrated, with RightSight technology used to ensure framing and focus adjusted dynamically as participants moved around the space.
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Audio was handled by a Shure microphone and DSP setup, supported by a Dante amplifier for clear sound delivery across various room layouts and seating distances.
Both systems supported shared content viewing for those in the room and on remote calls simultaneously, without requiring duplicated effort or screen switching.
Application and Design Rationale
The system was intended not just to facilitate communication, but to support a working culture where hybrid participation was the default - not the fallback. Portable collaboration systems like the 50” Surface Hub allowed for rapid reconfiguration of spaces depending on meeting size and purpose. In the larger room, the 85” display allowed the same collaboration tools to scale effectively.
Interface consistency was considered a key factor. Staff already using Microsoft Teams and Office 365 were able to access meetings, files, and collaborative tools without navigating new interfaces or workflows. This was particularly valuable in an environment where clinical, administrative, and support staff all needed to engage with shared systems regularly.
Outcome and Feedback
Following the installation, teams were able to adopt the new meeting environments quickly. The combination of the Microsoft Teams Rooms layout with the Surface Hub hardware created a familiar, low-friction experience. Remote participants could see and hear clearly, and in-room users gained flexibility in how meetings were conducted - whether seated presentations or standing collaborative discussions.
“We’ve found the creation of Microsoft Teams Rooms, with the Surface Hubs as the central technology both seamless and also a big step forward.
The whole team is familiar with Windows and the Microsoft Teams interface, so they can quickly join virtual meetings and have a great experience both in the room and as a remote participant.”
The approach has since been scaled to support over 40 meeting spaces across DHCW, helping teams maintain productivity while adapting to increasingly hybrid workflows.