A Freedom of Information response issued by Cwm Taf University Health Board in 2015 revealed that the installation of self check-in kiosks and outpatient calling screens across five hospitals cost £287,340, with ongoing maintenance costs of £21,000 per year.
More than a decade later, the Health Board has announced the re-introduction of self check-in kiosks across the same hospital sites, following their removal in previous years.
That’s factual, restrained, and hard to argue with.
From 27 January 2026, our main Outpatients departments at Prince Charles Hospital, Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, Royal Glamorgan Hospital, Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda and Dewi Sant Health Park will be re‑introducing self check‑in kiosks.
Since the self-check-in system was temporarily removed, feedback from both patients and staff highlighted several challenges within the Outpatient departments. This included longer wait times to book in, increased queues and reduced privacy.
We are pleased to re-introduce the self-check-in kiosks to help to ease these pressures on patients and enhance the arrival experience within our departments.
From 27 January, the self-check-in system will be available in Prince Charles Hospital. The following week, Ysbyty Cwm Cynon, Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda and Dewi Sant Health Park’s self-check in systems will be operational, with Royal Glamorgan Hospital the week after.
This means, that the next time a patient needs to attend the Outpatients Department at one of these sites, they will be able to check themselves in quickly, privately and efficiently.
How it works
- Go to a self-check-in kiosk when you arrive.
- Enter your details (date of birth and postcode).
- You’ll be checked in and our system will let the clinic team know you’ve arrived.
- Please take a seat; you’ll be called when it’s your turn.
- In the outpatient department you will see large calling screens, keep an eye on these screens as they will inform you when your clinician is ready to see you.
If patients are unable to use the self-check-in system, reception teams will support checking in to the Department. There will also be members of staff available on site to support any patients who are having difficulties using the kiosks.
Using a kiosk helps reduce queues and keeps clinics running smoothly.
If you are hard of hearing, or partially sighted, the self-check-in screens have built in functionality to support you to either use the system or aid your experience within the department.
FOI request from 22 September 2015,
Freedom of Information Request: Our Reference CTHB_272_15
Thank you for your request for information received on 22 September
2015, regarding the kiosks information television screens. Please find the
response from Cwm Taf University Health Board set out below:
You asked:
Under the freedom of information Act please can you supply the total cost
of procurement, installation and running cost of:
22 calling screens and 17 check-in kiosks installed across the five main
Outpatient departments of the Health Board including Royal Glamorgan
Hospital, Prince Charles Hospital, Ysbyty Cwm Rhondda, Ysbyty Cwm
Cynon and Dewi Sant Hospital.
Our response:
The total capital cost for the purchasing of 22 calling screens and 17
check- in kiosks inclusive of VAT is £287,340. This total includes the
associated costs of the IT and interfacing.
The ongoing revenue cost for maintenance and help desk support from year
2 onwards is £21,000.
I trust that this provides the information that you require. Under the terms
of the Health Board’s Freedom of Information policy, individuals seeking
access to recorded information held by the Health Board are entitled to
request an internal review of the handling of their requests. If you would
like to complain about the Health Board’s handling of your request please
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