News item about a national pilot project to be done at the Countess of Chester Hospital and Ellesmere Port Hospital in which electronic tags will, it is hoped, mean beds can be freed up more efficiently.
■ A security system triggers an immediate alert if a vulnerable patient goes astray
■ Sensors on hand gel dispensers encourage a hand hygiene culture
■ An alarm is triggered if a colleague mistakenly walks off with keys to a drug cupboard
■ Relatives concerned about staff attentiveness can be reassured with reference to the data
■ Staff will have the option to trigger an alarm in the event of a personal safety issue
■ Keeping tabs on expensive equipment
■ Tracing key staff members during a major incident
"Chief executive Tony Chambers said: “We see this as a flagship project in turning around our approach to patient flow and providing faster, safer care by increasing the responsiveness of our NHS workforce. With the visibility of this data it will put a stop to nurses wasting valuable time searching for equipment, and limit duplication of efforts in clinical admission staff repeatedly chasing updates on patient status to understand bed availability.
"The reality is that if we can reduce length of stay for each and every patient by just a few hours it gives us an additional 20 beds a day, which is much needed capacity delivered through more efficient working instead of spending.”
Looks interesting.
