Case Study - A Healthcare Group Deploys Zero Trust Clinical Network Across 24 Sites

INDUSTRY & CONTEXT

A healthcare group operating 24 clinical sites (hospitals, outpatient clinics, and diagnostic centres) across two European countries.

The organisation was undertaking a network modernisation programme driven by three simultaneous requirements: NIS2 network resilience obligations, GDPR-mandated technical measures for ePHI transmission security, and the operational reality that clinical Wi-Fi performance was inadequate in several high-density sites.

Where others focus on the obvious, we uncover what’s hidden behind closed doors.

The problem

Four issues put the project at risk:

• Network heterogeneity: 24 sites running networking equipment from four different vendors, with inconsistent security policy, undocumented VLAN configurations, and no centralised visibility. GDPR and NIS2 compliance documentation required a network inventory the organisation could not produce.

• Medical device isolation: HIPAA-equivalent technical safeguard requirements demanded documented network isolation of medical devices from general corporate and patient Wi-Fi networks. The existing VLAN structure was inconsistently applied and undocumented.

• Clinical Wi-Fi performance: three hospital sites were experiencing wireless connectivity problems in high-density clinical areas (operating theaters, emergency departments, and imaging suites) where clinical applications required reliable connectivity for patient safety.

• On-site IT dependency: every network change across 24 sites required on-site IT intervention. The 8-person network team was spending 60% of their time on routine network management tasks rather than strategic work.

The solution

NOHDE designed and deployed a full Cisco Meraki managed network across all 24 sites:

CISCO Meraki Assessment and Design: a full network audit of all 24 sites was completed over 4 weeks, producing a documented network inventory, VLAN map, and security gap assessment. This document alone addressed the NIS2 and GDPR network documentation requirement.

Zero-touch deployment: all 24 sites were deployed using Meraki zero-touch provisioning. Configuration was pushed from the central CISCO Meraki dashboard. Switches, access points, and security appliances arrived at each site pre-configured and required only power and uplink connection.

Medical device VLAN isolation: a consistent medical device isolation VLAN was deployed across all 24 sites, enforcing network separation between medical devices, clinical workstations, administrative systems, and patient Wi-Fi. The configuration was identical across every site and documented in the Meraki policy record.

Ongoing managed operations: NOHDE's team manages the entire 24-site network estate from the CISCO Meraki dashboard (firmware updates, security policy changes, performance monitoring, and incident response) with a 4-hour on-site SLA for physical incidents.

The outcome

24 sites deployed to consistent security standard

From 4-vendor heterogeneous estate to unified Meraki architecture

Network documentation:

Complete VLAN map, policy record, and asset inventory. NIS2 and GDPR network evidence produced as a deliverable of the deployment

Medical device isolation:

GDPR-required technical measure implemented and documented

Clinical Wi-Fi

Reported connectivity issues resolved at all 3 high-density sites, no clinical application performance complaints post-deployment

Network team capacity:

Routine management tasks reduced by 65%. On-site intervention requirement down from 60% of time to <15%

Zero-touch deployment:

All 24 sites deployed within 8 weeks, 3 weeks faster than projected

Why Meraki

The combination of zero-touch deployment, centralized cloud management, and the AI-driven RF capability made CISCO Meraki the definitive choice.

The alternative, replacing 24 sites with traditional enterprise networking, would have required double the deployment time and ongoing on-site management presence at each location.

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