HISTORY
A 1970s lifeline
From the mid-1970s pagers kept busy professionals in touch. Early models received short messages, and users called back on an ordinary telephone.
What changedA SMALL DEVICE WITH A LONG TAIL
The bleep that
refused to retire.
Most of us gave up pagers decades ago.
Pagers were most popular in the 1980s and mobile phones overtook them in the 1990s. Hospitals kept them for longer: in 2019 the NHS had about 130,000, more than one in 10 of the world's pagers.
Pager or phone? Read the short answer
01 Simple and robust02 Hard to overload03 No proof of readingWhy the bleep hung on
THE SHORT ANSWER
Reliable,
but one-way.
Pagers are simple and hard to overload.
But the sender rarely knows the message landed.
RELIABILITY
Built for bad days
The Science Museum notes that medical and emergency staff kept pagers because pager networks do not overload in emergencies the way mobile networks can.
Pager or phone?
REPLACING IT
Minutes back per shift
In a 2017 NHS pilot with a secure messaging app, junior doctors saved 48 minutes per shift and nurses 21 minutes on average.
See the numbersA QUICK SITUATION CHECK
Pager or phone,
which fits?
Pick a situation to see what the sources say about pagers and their replacements. The bar shows how strongly the evidence favours keeping a pager.
Based on the Science Museum Group collection, DHSC's 2019 announcement and studies in BMJ Quality & Safety. General information only.
TWO NUMBERS WORTH KNOWING
Lots of bleeps,
lots of interruptions.
One figure on how many pagers the NHS used,
one on how often a junior doctor was paged.
NHS PAGERS · DHSC
Pagers in use across the NHS in 2019
130,000
DHSC said the NHS used about 130,000 pagers, more than one in 10 of the world's pagers, at a cost of £6.6 million a year. Trusts were told to phase them out by the end of 2021.
PAGES PER DAY · BMJ QUALITY & SAFETY
Average daily pages to internal medicine residents
22<small> a day</small>
A study of 1,252 pages at a Boston teaching hospital found an average of 22.4 pages a day, up to 50. About 76% were clinically relevant, and 59% needed a response.
The same study found services based on a single ward received about half as many pages a day as those spread across several wards: 19 against 37.
WHAT THE EVIDENCE SUGGESTS
Swapping the device
is only half of it.
A BMJ Quality & Safety commentary argued that replacing pagers without changing how people send and answer messages is unlikely to help much. It pointed to a few practical fixes.
- Close the loopUse a secure, auditable messaging platform where the sender can see that a message was received.
- Know who to callGive staff central access to on-call schedules and directories, so messages reach the right person first time.
- Keep teams togetherServices based on one ward received about half as many pages as those spread across several.
- Keep a fallbackHold some pagers in reserve for emergencies when Wi-Fi or other systems fail.
A SHORT HISTORY
Most popular in the 80s,
kept on in hospitals.
The Science Museum describes the pager as a wireless device for receiving, and sometimes sending, short messages. From the mid-1970s it let busy professionals stay in touch with the office, though early models meant finding a telephone to call back.
Pagers peaked in the 1980s, and mobile phones made them obsolete for most people during the 1990s. The UK's commercial pager network closed in 2001, but medical staff and emergency services carried on using them.
QUESTIONS PEOPLE ASK
Frequently asked
What is a pager?
A small wireless device for receiving, and sometimes sending, short messages. Early pagers could receive brief messages, and users had to call back on a conventional telephone.
Why do hospitals still use pagers?
The Science Museum notes that pager networks do not get overloaded in emergencies the way mobile networks can, which is why medical and emergency services kept using them.
Did the NHS stop using pagers?
In February 2019 DHSC told NHS trusts to phase out pagers by the end of 2021, while allowing some to be kept for emergencies such as Wi-Fi failures.
What is wrong with paging?
A BMJ Quality & Safety commentary says paging lacks closed-loop feedback, so senders often do not know whether a message arrived, causing delays and repeat pages.
How often are doctors paged?
One study at a Boston teaching hospital found internal medicine residents received an average of 22.4 pages a day, and up to 50.
SOURCES
Where the facts come from
Each figure on this page comes from the sources below. Check them for the full detail and context.