Mental Health Charity calls for £30M Investment for Disused NHS Buildings

Mental Health Matters, a national mental health charity, has written an open letter to the Chancellor ahead of the Autumn Budget, calling for a £30 million investment fund to embed Voluntary, Community, Faith and Social Enterprise (VCFSE) services within NHS estates.

The charity is urging the Chancellor to establish a fund to refurbish existing, unused NHS buildings, including spaces in hospitals and GP surgeries. 

It's believed such an investment would create permanent spaces for voluntary and community-led services to operate on-site, alongside the NHS.

Jane Hughes, Chief Executive of Mental Health Matters, told That's Health: “There are over 800,000 square metres of unused or underutilised space within the NHS estate, which we believe is costing the taxpayer over £375 million. The charity sector is ready to deliver services utilising these spaces. 

"We often hear people don’t know what support is available in their community, and that services need to be more joined up. We believe this proposal would help make services like ours more visible, accessible and better integrated with the NHS.”

The proposal seeks to reduce reliance on temporary prefab structures and make better use of underused NHS spaces, ensuring voluntary and community organisations have safe, high-quality spaces to provide prevention, early intervention and recovery support.

The plan would also see local VCFSE partners co-design facilities to meet community needs.

Sarah Wileman, Director of Development at Mental Health Matters, added: “Local communities know what works for them. By working together, we can transform empty spaces into services that are accessible, inclusive, and tailored to local needs."

Mental Health Matters say this investment would help the Government deliver on NHS England’s Community Mental Health Transformation priorities, ensure more efficient use of taxpayer money, and re-invest building rental income back into the health system.

You can learn more here https://www.mhm.org.uk.

The Failures of Virtual Wards: Navigating the Pitfalls of Modern Healthcare

In recent years, virtual wards have gained popularity in the healthcare industry as a promising solution to improve patient care and reduce hospital readmissions. 

These innovative systems aim to monitor and support patients remotely, providing timely interventions and preventing unnecessary hospitalisations. While the concept of virtual wards holds great potential, they are not without their shortcomings. In this blog post, we'll explore some of the failures and challenges associated with virtual wards.

Limited Access and Connectivity

One of the most significant issues with virtual wards is that they heavily rely on technology. While this reliance on technology can be efficient and cost-effective in many cases, it also poses challenges for those who do not have reliable internet access or the digital literacy needed to use these systems effectively. This digital divide can exclude vulnerable populations, such as the elderly or socioeconomically disadvantaged individuals, from receiving the benefits of virtual ward services.

Data Security and Privacy Concerns

The transfer and storage of sensitive patient data in virtual wards are essential for their operation. However, this also brings forth a myriad of privacy and security concerns. Ensuring that patient data remains protected from breaches and unauthorised access is a constant challenge, especially when dealing with numerous data points and interconnected devices. As the healthcare industry faces a growing number of cyberattacks and data breaches, the security of virtual wards is a significant concern.

Lack of Personalised Care

Virtual wards often rely on algorithms and automated systems to monitor patients' vital signs and assess their health status. While this approach is cost-effective and efficient, it can neglect the nuances of individual patient needs. Virtual wards can lack the personal touch that healthcare professionals can provide in traditional hospital settings. This can lead to misdiagnoses or inadequate care, as well as patient dissatisfaction.

There can also be issues with a patient, who previously would have been hospitalised for treatment, remaining at home in the care of elderly and often poorly family members or relying on visiting carers with the potential problems this can bring with it.

Technological Glitches

As with any technology, virtual wards are susceptible to glitches and technical malfunctions. When these issues occur, patients may experience disruptions in their care, and healthcare providers may struggle to respond promptly. Relying on technology in a healthcare setting means that there is a risk of system failures, which can have severe consequences for patient safety.

Staffing and Training Challenges

To ensure the success of virtual wards, healthcare providers must have well-trained staff who can use the technology effectively and provide the necessary support to patients. Staffing virtual wards with skilled professionals and providing ongoing training can be costly and challenging. This could lead to a lack of qualified personnel, undermining the effectiveness of the virtual ward model.

Regulatory and Legal Hurdles

The healthcare industry is highly regulated, and virtual wards are no exception. Navigating the complex web of regulations and compliance requirements can be a significant challenge for healthcare organizations. Additionally, legal questions surrounding issues like liability and informed consent in virtual ward settings have yet to be fully resolved.

Conclusion

While virtual wards hold promise in improving patient care and reducing hospital readmissions, they are not without their failures and challenges. Limited access and connectivity, data security and privacy concerns, the potential for a lack of personalized care, technological glitches, staffing and training challenges, and regulatory and legal hurdles are all significant issues that need to be addressed to make virtual wards a viable and safe healthcare solution.

As virtual ward technology continues to evolve, it is crucial to learn from these failures and work toward solutions that make remote healthcare monitoring more accessible, secure, and patient-centred. By acknowledging and addressing these challenges, we can ensure that virtual wards can fulfil their potential and help shape the future of healthcare in a positive way.

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust Awards Strategic Health Informatics Contract to Kainos

Using Kainos Evolve EMR, the Acute Trust will digitise all live patient case notes, giving clinicians instant access to accurate, up-to-date case notes at the point of need, yielding on-going savings of £1 million a year.

Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Trust has become the latest major healthcare organisation to commit to a substantial records digitisation project with Kainos. The Trust, which awarded the 5-year contract in October will deploy Evolve® 3, Kainos’s next-generation electronic medical record (EMR) solution.

The Countess of Chester Hospital NHS Foundation Trust comprises a 600-bed large district General Hospital on the Countess of Chester Health Park, and a 64-bed Intermediate Care Service at Ellesmere Port Hospital. The Trust employs 3500 staff and provides a range of medical services to more than 445,000 patients each year from across Western Cheshire, Ellesmere Port, Neston and North Wales. Its medical records library contains half a million sets of case notes.

Initially, the Trust will draw on Kainos’s expertise in scanning to convert all live patient case notes into digitised form, before later developing the way Evolve will be used by clinicians to deliver more efficient and safer patient care in a user-friendly fashion that delivers real value and efficiencies to clinicians.

Describing the initiative as “one of the biggest projects the Trust is looking to implement over the next two years”, Rob Howorth, Assistant Director of Information Services at the Trust, said Kainos quickly emerged as the clear favourite in the European tender process which began in February 2011, an instinct that was confirmed following a detailed reference visit to one of Kainos’s established healthcare customers, the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust.

“All of the staff across a range of disciplines have been tremendously impressed with the professionalism, dedication and enthusiasm shown by Kainos throughout the tender process, and now that we are a client,” Rob says.

The Trust’s aim is to embrace a ‘paper-light’ environment, achieving on-going savings of £1 million a year. Expected benefits include the elimination of manual collection and distribution of case notes by administrators, and the time savings and improvements to patient care made possible once clinicians have instant access to accurate, up-to-date case notes at the point of need, irrespective of who else may be viewing the documents at the same time. Says Rob, “Even though our access to patient records is already very good – typically within four hours of an emergency patient being admitted– in future this will be instantaneous.”

In a second phase of the project, the Trust will exploit Evolve’s workflow management capabilities, allowing clinicians to seek advice and refer patients, for example, with links to particular pages in their case notes. “Evolve’s flexibility is excellent,” Rob says. “With the eForms capability, our existing case notes won’t need to be a dead repository; we can turn them into live documents that we can search in detail, and add to over time. This will be of significant benefit to us.”

That Kainos is able to provide a comprehensive support service, from a full scanning service to consultancy and implementation of the Evolve software, was the final clincher to the deal. “We want to get this right first time, so it is great that we have also been able to buy Kainos’s expertise and experience in scanning,” Rob concludes. “I know that this is going to be a very successful partnership.”

FACTFILE:

Kainos is a technology company with particular expertise in three core markets - healthcare, financial services and public sector.

Evolve® is the flagship Electronic Medical Records (EMR) solution in Kainos’s comprehensive suite of healthcare solutions, which cost-effectively automate the creation, capture and handling of medical case notes and operational documents and records.

Evolve customers include the Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust, West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust, Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust, For more information please visit www.kainos.com/evolve

UK medical first: Laser used to dissolve cataracts

A new laser treatment that actually dissolves cataracts in the eye has been introduced into the UK by one of the country’s top eye hospitals. The London Eye Hospital (www.londoneyehospital.com) on Harley Street in London is first in the UK to introduce the FemtoSecond laser treatment for the removal of cataracts or clear lens extraction, revolutionising cataract surgery, with a Wolverhampton resident one of the first to undertake the treatment.

Contrary to popular belief, cataracts have not been treated with laser surgery in the UK before. The current technique for cataract surgery or clear lens extraction involves an incision with a blade of approximately 3mm by the surgeon who also creates an opening into the lens and then breaks up the cataract using high frequency ultrasound, a process known as phacoemulsification. This procedure has been refined over the last 25 years and offers a safe and effective but highly invasive option.

By comparison, the next generation of cataract surgery would not look out of place in a science fiction movie. The FemtoSecond cataract laser creates a 3-dimensional model of the eye at close to a micron level of accuracy, in real-time. Controlled by a sophisticated surgeon-guided computer, the laser then dissolves the lens or cataract using perfect precision and also creates the incision that could be as small as a pin-prick.

Bobby Qureshi, Consultant Opthalmic Surgeon and Medical Director at The London Eye Hospital - and currently the only surgeon able to offer the laser treatment - says this new technique will change cataract surgery forever: 

“The FemtoSecond laser has been specially designed to bring an extraordinary level of accuracy and reproducibility to refractive cataract surgery, making this the single greatest breakthrough in cataract and lens extraction surgery in nearly 30 years. No matter how accurate manual procedures may have seemed in the past, they simply cannot compete with the accuracy and precision that is now possible with laser cataract removal, which means that this surgery is now safer than ever before.”

Because the high-tech laser has been designed specifically for refractive cataract surgery, this new procedure will bring the power of image-guided computer precision to Mr Qureshi and his team. As a result, treatments can be individually tailored to each patient’s eyes and deliver a remarkable degree of accuracy. In addition, because the equipment features a customisable 3D surgical platform, it makes it much easier to visualise, customise and perform many of the most challenging steps of cataract surgery.

This new approach to cataract surgery also reduces the risk of complications associated with older techniques such as damage to the fine membrane surrounding the lens and - as the incision is so small – reduces the risk of infection. As such, this new procedure represents a huge increase in safety and reduces the risks of cataract surgery even further.

Mr Bobby Qureshi became the first UK surgeon to use a FemtoSecond laser for cataract surgery at the London Eye Hospital on Harley Street at the start of December 2011 Mr Qureshi says the new technique will change people’s lives:

“Cataracts affect over 60% of people over the age of 60, and quite a few younger patients as well. In fact, the condition is so common that almost everyone will develop a cataract if they live long enough. For years, many people have accepted cataracts as an unavoidable part of getting older, but that doesn’t now need to be the case. With this new breakthrough in laser refractive surgery, we can now offer a safe and effective alternative to cataract removal in the UK.”

Case Studies
Susan Morgan, 52, from Weybridge in Surrey, recently had a FemtoLaser cataract extraction and implantation of light adjustable lens in her left eye:

“I’ve never had an ordinary cataract operation to compare it to but the laser treatment was fantastic. I was under it for a very short time and it all seemed very easy. I didn’t feel any pain during the procedure or afterwards – in fact I didn’t need a single painkiller and just had a glass of champagne instead!

“Recovery has been very straightforward and my sight is now so much better. I’ve worn contact lenses since I was 16 and in the last few years I’ve had to wear reading glasses as well. I also had the start of a cataract but I’ll never need to have another operation on it or wear any sort of glasses or contacts again.

“Mr Qureshi was fantastic and explained everything so I felt very comfortable and safe. The treatment has had a huge impact already and really will be life changing.”

Suzanne Rogers, 58, from Wolverhampton, recently had a FemtoLaser lens extraction and implantation of a light adjustable lens in her right eye:

“It’s a very good experience all round for me. It was completely painless, which is excellent! To be honest I didn’t know what to expect but right from going in and all through the treatment I felt very at ease. The laser itself is great – you don’t feel anything and it’s over very quickly and then Mr Qureshi takes over to put the lens into the eye. I had no pain afterwards, either.

My sight is much improved and it’s wonderful to be able to see everything so clearly. Mr Qureshi tells me it will continue to improve, especially after I’ve had further adjustments in a few weeks with the adjustable implants. It’s certainly made a huge difference to my life already.”

The London Eye Hospital has opened a purpose-built operating suite incorporating the first installation of the FemtoSecond cataract laser. The hospital is also the only clinic in the world to offer patients a choice between several different machines including the Technolas Perfect Vision. VICTUS and the Alcon LenSx FemtoSecond cataract lasers, meaning specialists can use the most appropriate treatment for each patient.

The London Eye Hospital brings together leading Consultant Ophthalmic Surgeons to create a centre of excellence for the diagnosis and treatment of all eye conditions to the highest standard. All surgery is carried out at the London Eye Hospital, which is possibly the most advanced surgical centre in the world and registered with the Care Quality Commission. 

All London Eye Hospital surgeons hold NHS Consultant posts and are acclaimed experts in their specialist area with an international reputation. They are also registered with all the well-known medical insurance companies such as AXA, Bupa, Norwich Union, Standard Life and others.

The London Eye Hospital is committed to providing the highest level of eyecare without compromise. Patients will have the opportunity to discuss all treatment options including the latest technology and surgical techniques that are currently not available on the NHS, many of which have been pioneered by London Eye Hospital surgeons.

To find out more about the London Eye Hospital:

Tel: 0800 612 2021
Email: admin@londoneyehospital.com
www.londoneyehospital.com

(EDITOR: As the recipient of cataract removal and lens replacement several years ago, I am deeply fascinated by such developments.)

Scarborough Acute NHS Trust Uses New Technology To Reduce Patient Mortality Ratios

• NHS Trust deploys QlikView Business Discovery platform to gain a clearer view of patient data and aid in daily decision-making

Infrastructure and software solutions Value Added Reseller, Trustmarque, announced today that it has successfully deployed QlikView, a business intelligence tool, to help Scarborough Acute NHS Trust connect and compile data from its different information systems to aid in critical clinical decision making to help reduce mortality ratios.

Scarborough Acute NHS Trust is a North Yorkshire based healthcare and NHS trust which delivers hospital services to a population of 240,000. Employing 2,400 staff, it is the largest employer in the area. The Trust was looking for a new tool to help connect and pull data from its various different information systems to enable its clinicians, managers and consultants to easily create visual reports, charts and tables that would help them in their day-to-day decision making to improve not only clinical care, but also help them to monitor more closely and bring down mortality rates.

“Excel was pervasive within the organisation but the reports became instantly out of date and were difficult to maintain,” explains Manni Imiavan, Head of Information, Directorate of Finance & Procurement. “We had a number of different tools in play which all had strengths and weaknesses, but none seemed to tick all the boxes.”

Scarborough had a longstanding relationship with Trustmarque so it was the first port of call when looking to procure a dashboard tool. Trustmarque first provided Scarborough with consultancy to better understand its business objectives and then information and demonstrations on a selection of tools that it felt would meet the needs of the Trust.

“After speaking with our account manager and Business Intelligence Practice Lead they were able to identify a range of products that we hadn’t considered, one of them being QlikView,” comments Imiavan. “What really sold us on QlikView was the fact that Trustmarque was actually able to provide us with a demo of the product using dashboards created specifically for the NHS.”

Following the selection of QlikView, Trustmarque also provided Scarborough with the technical support required to ensure the smooth deployment of the new technology across the organisation.

Imiavan continues: “In December 2010 we started getting quotes and within four weeks QlikView was implemented within our Trust. Trustmarque provided technical support and conducted onsite training at the time of installation, and those who attended benefited hugely. Users could start building bespoke dashboards for different clinical directorates within the Trust straight away and were also able to pass on their knowledge to those who hadn’t received the Trustmarque training. The value of Trustmarque really is in its service offering.”

QlikView is now pervasive across the Scarborough NHS Trust and has been used to automate waiting list management and enhance KPI reporting. QlikView has allowed service users to interact with their own data in a way they have never been able to do before.

“Clinicians and senior managers now use QlikView daily to help in decision making. It provides a view of key information from all case notes and clinical reviews, can be used to drill down patient pathways and disseminate information. As a result, clinicians are able to compile more accurate and current data on mortality ratios due to the enhanced self-service analysis and increased visibility of patient information. All our clinical divisions also now rely on QlikView dashboards for performance management,” states Imiavan.

“There’s no doubt it has saved us money and a lot of time. At one point we had seriously considered getting external people in to do our dashboards, which would have cost us £500 per day. With the training we have received from Trustmarque we have been able to do everything in-house. The investment we have made in QlikView has undoubtedly been one of the most significant strategic decisions taken over the past few years.”

“Business intelligence can help health managers get the most out of the data available. Health care institutions are not short of information, but the challenge lies in making this data usable and being able to understand what it means, and this is where QlikView can play its part,” concludes Mike Cawthorn, Practice Lead for Trustmarque’s Business Performance Management team.

“With increasing targets to improve patient care, coupled with reduced budgets, it is a very hard time for the NHS. Using technology to reduce the burden of reporting and to give a clearer view to support a business case for investment is critical at this time and we would strongly urge all institutions to take Scarborough’s lead.”

Sean Farrington, RVP Northern Europe & MD UK & Ireland at QlikTech, added, “The ability to access, analyse and use data and information is vital across all businesses and organisations. Having the tools to enable all users to gain quick and easy visibility of the latest information in real-time is the next step in the discovery phase, and seeing the QlikView Business Discovery platform in action across the Scarborough NHS Trust means that all users will be empowered in the critical decision-making that goes into reducing waiting times and mortality rates.”

FACTFILE:
Trustmarque is a market-leading Value Added Reseller and provider of technology services and solutions to UK private and public sector organisations. Trustmarque has been a trusted advisor to customers on issues relating to technology for over 24 years, helping companies to make sense of their complex IT environments by unlocking the value of technology, improving efficiencies and reducing costs.

Trustmarque holds ISO9001/2000, ISO14001, OHSAS18001 and ISO27001 certifications, is OGC accredited and has achieved the Investors in People standard. In addition Trustmarque’s employees are ITIL and PRINCE2 qualified.

Trustmarque has also worked with The CarbonNeutral Company (formerly Future Forests) leaders in the field of carbon management and climate change solutions to become a CarbonNeutral® company.

For details on how Trustmarque can help your hospital or service, visit www.trustmarque.com, call 0845 2101 500, or email: info@trustmarque.com.

40 per cent of hospital medicines ‘involved an error’

A new study published today in the Journal of Advanced Nursing has shown that nearly 40% of observed drug administrations involved errors. Patients with swallowing difficulties were at three times greater risk of medication errors being made . Earlier research has shown that patients with swallowing difficulties (dysphagia) spend 40% longer in hospital than those without dysphagia.

A total of 2129 medicine administrations were observed in a range of different hospitals and 817 involved an error. Medication administration errors for patients with swallowing difficulties involved patients chewing modified release tablets, nurses crushing tablets not authorized to be crushed, mixing medicines together to make them easier to swallow, not flushing tubes between drug administrations and using the wrong syringe to administer medicines down feeding tubes.

Overall, the most common error involved medicines being given at the wrong time, i.e. one hour earlier or later than had been prescribed. Whilst in many cases it is unlikely this would cause any harm, it did include 18 of 49 doses of anti-Parkinson medication being given over an hour late, which could have led to patients with Parkinson’s not having their symptoms adequately controlled and being unable to move, get out of bed or walk down a corridor.

Says Professor David Wright, University of East Anglia who supervised the research: “Whilst the level of errors in patients without swallowing difficulties was no different to that seen by other researchers, it is very apparent that patients with swallowing difficulties seem to be at greater risk of medication administration errors and therefore systems need to be reviewed to improve the quality of their care. Patients should be assessed on their ability to swallow their medication when first admitted to hospital. The results of this study have helped us to pilot new approaches in one of the trusts where observations took place to improve communication between nurses, pharmacists and doctors.”

Daiga Heisters, Head of Professional Engagement and Education at Parkinson's UK, commented: “It's vitally important that people with Parkinson's get their medication on time, every time and we know this can be a particular problem they are admitted to hospital. If people with Parkinson's don't get their medication on time, their symptoms become uncontrolled and their hospital stay is extended. In some cases, this can cause a lasting negative effect on their Parkinson's symptoms.

Our ‘Get it on time’ campaign aims to raise awareness of this issue amongst healthcare professionals and we welcome any initiative which will help people with Parkinson's to get their medication on time.”

Summary of the Research Findings

• 2129 drug administrations observed
• 65 nurse-led medicine administration rounds were openly observed and recorded by the researchers on care-of-the-elderly and stroke wards.
• 34% of the 625 patients observed had swallowing difficulties
• 817 drug administrations involved medication errors
• 170 patients without swallowing difficulties and 133 patients with swallowing problems experienced at least one medication error
• 36 of the 50 patients with an enteral feeding tube experienced at least one error
• 36.7% of anti-Parkinson medication was given over an hour late

Summary of medication errors in patients with swallowing difficulties

• 54.3% Medication given at the wrong time
• 19.8% Wrong preparation
• 9.6% Wrong form
• 6.7% Drug not given
• 2.2% Wrong dose
• 0.7% Wrong drug
• 0.3% Extra dose

www.parkinsons.org.uk

Irisys anti-superbug test programme for NHS gains medical ethical approval

Infrared technology solution aims to save lives – and part of the £1 billion annual cost to the NHS
 
Medical ethical approval has been granted to a test programme designed to cut healthcare-associated infections across the NHS. Testing is now under way at a London NHS Trust.

NHS figures show that about nine per cent of patients actually acquire infections during a hospital stay. This costs the Health Service around £1billion annually – money that could be saved by something as simple as regular hand washing.

News of the approval comes on the eve of Global Handwashing Day, an international initiative endorsed by a wide array of governments and international institutions.

As part of the Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI), the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Invention for Innovation (i4i) programme awarded a two year contract to British infrared specialist, Irisys, to develop sensors to drive improvement in compliance with hospital handwashing regulations.

Together with associated communication and reporting systems, the result should be a groundbreaking automatic monitoring and alerting system that will be affordable and non-intrusive. Initially designed for the NHS, the system will subsequently be applicable to all healthcare providers, and to other industries such as food processing.

The impact of pathogens such as MRSA and C-difficile on the NHS first came to prominence in the 1990s. Many people carry these bugs with no effect on their day-to-day health. But in a hospital environment, the situation becomes potentially life-threatening.

Hand cleansing is a key way to cut infection rates. To reduce the possibility of passing infection between individuals, any person having contact with patients should wash their hands thoroughly...

• when they first enter a patient area
• before and after touching a patient
• before leaving an area or moving to another patient after touching anything else

The Irisys solution is called the Intelligent Handwashing Monitor (IHM). The system looks at the behaviour of personnel in the hospital environment so that handwashing compliance is improved in line with established procedures. The infrared system monitors movement in and out of a specific area; and the number of times each handwash unit is used. Compliance rates are then calculated, displayed locally and reported.

The IHM project complements the Irisys existing programme in Assisted Living, where the company is developing infrared sensing products and systems that can help to monitor elderly and disabled people and others at risk of injury, without intruding on their privacy. It represents another significant step by Irisys into the healthcare market.

Data source: The Management and Control of Hospital Acquired Infection in Acute NHS Trusts in England: National Audit Office report, 17 February 2000

Hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) - also known as nosocomial or iatrogenic infections - occur in about 9% of in-patients, which amounts to at least 100,000 infections a year and 5,000 deaths. These infections may be costing taxpayers as much as £1,000m every year.

FACTFILE:

About the National Institute for Health Research
The National Institute for Health Research provides the framework through which the research staff and research infrastructure of the NHS in England is positioned, maintained and managed as a national research facility. The NIHR provides the NHS with the support and infrastructure it needs to conduct first class research funded by the Government and its partners alongside high-quality patient care, education and training. Its aim is to support outstanding individuals (both leaders and collaborators), working in world class facilities (both NHS and university), conducting leading-edge research focused on the needs of patients. www.nihr.ac.uk

About SBRI
This contract will be managed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Suppliers were selected by an open competition process (October 2008), as part of the reformed Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) in the area of Healthcare Associated Infections. This competition was managed through the NIHR Invention for Innovation programme. No future SBRI competitions are planned. The SBRI initiative is championed by the Technology Strategy Board. More information can be found at www.innovateuk.org.

About Irisys
Irisys is a UK innovator in award-winning technologies that make a significant, measurable impact on business efficiency and contribute to improving the quality of people’s lives.
Irisys is a high technology manufacturing success story, exporting British technology all over the world, and regularly featuring in the Sunday Times Tech Track list of fastest growing technology companies. The company invests a double-digit percentage of revenues in R&D and holds over 70 patents. One in six employees has a PhD.

Irisys is the global leader in people counting technologies and real time queue management solutions. Its infrared thermal imaging solutions are used by some of the world’s leading retailers, banks and airports to boost customer service, operational efficiency and profitability. Irisys pioneered the introduction of low cost thermal imaging cameras for industrial applications and its security technologies are predicted to transform the intruder detection market. Irisys’ ongoing investment in healthcare solutions aims to make hospitals safer and cleaner, and improve home monitoring for the elderly and infirm.

Irisys doubled its revenues in 2010, both by changing the landscape of established markets and by creating entirely new areas of demand.


About Global Handwashing Day (GHD)
Global Handwashing is endorsed by a wide array of governments, international institutions, civil society organizations, NGOs, private companies, and individuals.

Handwashing is the most effective and inexpensive way to prevent diarrheal and acute respiratory infections, which take the lives of millions of children in developing countries every year. Together, they are responsible for the majority of all child deaths. Yet, despite its lifesaving potential, handwashing with soap is seldom practiced and difficult to promote.

Turning handwashing with soap before eating and after using the toilet into an ingrained habit could save more lives than any single vaccine or medical intervention, cutting deaths from diarrhea by almost half and deaths from acute respiratory infections by one-quarter. A vast change in handwashing behavior is critical to meeting the Millennium Development Goal of reducing deaths among children under the age of five by two-thirds by 2015.

For more information on handwashing with soap, including research, tools, and news visit www.globalhandwashing.org or contact info@globalhandwashing.org

NHS Reform to Benefit Patients With Private Health Insurance?

Patients with private health insurance will be the main beneficiaries of the Health and Social Care Bill, as NHS hospitals across England reveal plans to expand their private facilities.The NHS reforms, originally proposed by Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, will remove the cap on earnings from private companies. With the cap removed, many NHS hospitals will look to boost their income by improving and expanding their private patient services.

Over seven NHS trusts across England have already revealed plans to increase their private facilities in preparation for the new Bill.

In the East, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust plans to start construction work on a new complex containing a private hospital in 2012. Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has also recently commenced a project with private provider Spire Healthcare.

In the south Midlands, Milton Keynes Hospital NHS Foundation Trust plans to establish a new private patient’s facility. In the South, Basingstoke and North Hampshire NHS Foundation Trust looks to invest £2.5million in a private ward of single rooms.

In London, Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust plans to increase its number of private care beds by 30% by 2012. Additionally, King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust plans to refurbish its private patient wing.

One way to protect you and your family’s health in light of the Health and Social Care Bill is to compare health insurance policies with health insurance comparison sites such as ActiveQuote.com, and make full use of the increase in private facilities in NHS hospitals.

Richard Theo, of health insurance comparison site ActiveQuote.com, said: “There is a lot of controversy over the proposed NHS reforms, but the Bill will actually benefit people with private medical insurance. Health conscious patients should compare medical insurance quotes and take advantage of the UK’s excellent private healthcare system”.

There are many benefits to staying in a private unit. A patient with health insurance will avoid the long NHS queues and be treated at a time of their choice, with a consultant of their choice. Patients with health insurance will also be treated in an en-suite private room, with use of a personal telephone and television.

In addition, a private unit situated in an NHS hospital will benefit from the comprehensive services of a large hospital, including access to cutting edge clinical research.

Annual plans submitted by NHS Foundation Trusts to Monitor

FACTFILE:

ActiveQuote Health Ltd is a health insurance broker, fully authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) number 501109 as a health insurance intermediary.

ActiveQuote offer free advice on private medical cover in the UK.

enquiry@health.activequote.com
Tel: 0800 862 0373

Can bacteria be used in fight against hospital superbugs?

Trials of a revolutionary, natural and cheap alternative to traditional hygiene practices is likely to launch a completely new approach to the war against hospital superbugs, it is claimed.
The startling results show that harmful bacteria can be completely eliminated by using ‘friendly’ bacteria in a simple cleaning fluid - rather than by using toxic chemicals.

The trials, undertaken by UK-based hygiene specialists Chemex International, were unveiled today at a conference of over 600 members of the Infection Protection Society in Bournemouth.

Sean Derrig (PICTURED) Scientific Director of Chemex International, who presented the results at the Conference said: “Since the days of Lister and Florence Nightingale science has put a lot of effort into killing bacteria. This approach certainly has its place but we have now proved that nature’s methods can be more effective.

“But it does turn traditional wisdom on its head somewhat. Our research has proven that employing ‘friendly’ bacteria in a cleaning product rather than harsh chemicals drove out the bacteria that can be harmful to humans present at the start of the trial. The ‘bad’ bugs were completely eradicated – and the good ones did a very good job of eating dirt and grime as well. It’s fighting fire with fire.

“The friendly bacteria chase out germs and form a protective biofilm that is tougher than Teflon and keeps the bad bacteria away permanently. The same principle is used in probiotic drinks that repopulate the gut with ‘good’ bacteria. It’s called competitive exclusion.

“In reality we are surrounded by bacteria, most of which are totally harmless or positively beneficial - without them we wouldn’t have bread, cheese or even wine and beer – all of which are made by bacteria.

“Problem bacteria can be concealed in minor cracks and blemishes in buildings and are very difficult to completely remove without costly shutdowns and deep cleans. And they soon return. This is a completely new approach to dealing with the pathogens that cause hospital-acquired infections. It is also simple, cheap and highly effective.

“We have trialled this approach with a very forward-thinking NHS Trust and we saw more than just a visible improvement in cleanliness; scientific tests clearly demonstrated that harmful bacteria had been totally eliminated.

“The ‘friendly’ bacteria are abundant in nature, the strain we use feeds on dirt and produces natural antibiotics which attack and kill the harmful bacteria. It really is using nature’s technology to clean wards and get rid of pathogens once and for all".

Chemex International has previously helped NHS Trusts and private healthcare across the UK in the battle against killer bugs.

Its high-level biocides are powerful enough to kill ‘difficult’ organisms such as Clostridium difficile spores and Norovirus against which traditional chemicals are ineffective and are in use in multiple NHS Trusts and other situations where scrupulous hygiene is paramount.

For more information about Chemex International, go to www.chemexuk.com or call 00 44 121 565 6300.

Hospitals can get SMART, enabling NHS Trusts to minimise risk and maximise patient safety

Evidence-based decision making powered by Real Time Hospital from SMART set to revolutionise NHS approach to balancing staff skill mixes and patient safety while managing costs

SMART, a leading supplier of innovative workforce management solutions to the NHS, has today announced the availability of Real Time Hospital. This real time decision support system enables safe patient care and safe deployment of staff, reducing costs and patient safety incidents.

Real Time Hospital has been designed to provide up to the minute information to ward managers, matrons and executive management to support evidence based decision making. Real time information provides details of potential issues with staffing levels, skills mix, nurse/patient acuity ratios, permanent/agency staff ratios and unplanned absence. This enables managers to take immediate corrective action, so maintaining patient safety, minimising risk, and helping Trusts to meet the QIPP agenda. SMART’s Real Time Hospital is the first solution that looks at all of these areas in a holistic way to provide a single view to support managers in decision making.

Besides supporting real time staffing decisions, which are proven to save money and reduce patient safety incidents, Real Time Hospital also lets Trusts analyse variables historically. The solution enables Trusts to analyse the set of circumstances that lead to the need for corrective action and assist future planning to avoid such situations re-occurring.

Real Time Hospital provides Trust with:
• A consistent approach to measuring patient dependency/acuity levels
• A consistent measurement of outcome/nurse sensitive indicators
• A consistent method of relating staff skills mix number to dependency/acuity
• Real time alerts enabling real time hospital management through risk management and staff redeployment
• Records of inputs and outputs and actual staffing levels enabling more effective planning by adjusting establishment levels

Benefits to Trusts utilising Real Time Hospital are:
• Improved patient care though real time view of safety risk indicators
• Reduced patient safety incidents related to understaffing/skill mix/use of temporary staffing
• Reduced costs by redeploying staff and avoiding patient complications through correct staffing levels
• Reduced risks by increasing or redeploying staff based on acuity/dependency levels
• Continuous improvement by monitoring outcomes
• Compliance against trust targets and initiatives like QIPP
• Gives a single conduit to collect, collate and correlate data saving clinical resources

Nick Whiteley, who is the Managing Director Health Market at SMART said; “Providing quality care for patients is top priority for all NHS Trusts, however, management are often in the position of taking decisions that impact patient care with very little supporting information. Real Time Hospital has been designed to directly address this issue, by supplying detailed information to support decision making via a web dashboard that can be deployed anywhere.”

SMART Real Time Hospital is available as a standalone installation, or integrated with SMART eRostering, Bank and Time & Attendance.

FACTILE:
UK based and with 25 years experience, SMART is the leading provider of solutions for workforce management designed to help organisations to achieve agility and cost efficiency from their greatest asset – their people. Utilising our own highly skilled and experienced people SMART helps companies to maximise the performance, productivity and value of their workforce. Our solutions can assist in achieving a sustainable reduction in people costs of up to 10%, while providing a better working environment for staff.

From time and attendance through to workforce planning, scheduling, absence management and comprehensive automated reporting, the SMART solution suite offers a wide breadth and depth of functionality. It can be fully installed on site, delivered as a managed or hosted service with a full range of support services from SMART’s own in-house consultants.

Accessible from anywhere in the world, SMART’s web-based workforce management solutions are developed using Microsoft .NET to give a zero-footprint solution that is flexible, reliable, scalable and easy to implement, and provides an environmentally responsible option. The data centre supports the Trees for Business Campaign and we are collaborating with Brunel University to identify practical ways to recycle heat and airflow to minimise draw on the power supply, and uses optimised hardware to ensure power consumption is reduced wherever possible.

SMART in Healthcare
SMART RPC provides a simple web-based solution for creating and managing Trust-wide staff rosters and time and attendance related activity. The only Next Generation workforce management solution available today, SMART RPC has been designed by our developers to support all NHS Trust roles – a feature that is currently unique. As well as eRostering SMART RPC encompasses Automatic Attendance Recording and Bank Administration, in one easy to use system.

As a Next Generation rostering application, SMART RPC has a host of time-saving features including Auto Roster which generates staff rosters in minutes, and alerts to managers in real time to warn of potential problems with their rosters. In addition it provides unrivalled fairness and transparency in dealing with shift preferences of staff, helping to improve staff morale and reducing staff turnover.

SMART provides comprehensive workforce management solutions to a significant proportion of the UK Healthcare market and was selected as sole provider of e-rostering and time and attendance for the National ESR programme and has unique, proven and fully automated integration with ESR.

Over 600 organisations worldwide benefit from SMART’s solutions and services in both the private and public sectors. Customers include Royal Free Hampstead NHS Trust, Gateshead Health NHS Foundation Trust, Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, The Dudley Group of Hospitals NHS Trust, Ocado, Gist, Habitat, Jaguar, JCB, Mandarin Oriental, Sainsbury's, Swissport, Trailfinders, Tussauds Group, and Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service.

For information please visit: www.smart-rostering.co.uk

Hundreds of hospitals could be using unproven medical bags, according to research

Some 30% of UK hospitals could be transporting diagnostic specimens in medical bags that may not meet international guidelines, says new recent research.

UK-based Versapak has reviewed market data which indicates many hospitals may not be using bags that carry proof of compliance, either because they are unaware of the relevant guidelines, or their supplier has failed to provide the required certification to demonstrate full compliance.

Versapak worked closely with the Department for Transport (DfT) five years ago to develop a range of medical bags that are fully compliant with the newly-introduced PI650 packaging instructions contained in guideline UN3373.

An awareness campaign was launched at the time but Versapak fears many hospitals still may not be able to confirm beyond doubt whether the bags they use are compliant.

The guideline refers to ‘Category B’ substances, usually non-infectious blood and organ samples, transported for testing, and specifies that packaging must comprise a primary receptacle, secondary packaging and outer packaging. The first two elements should be leak-proof and the overall package marked with the code ‘UN3373’ and be strong enough to pass a drop test of at least 1.2m.

Versapak group sales director Steve Waller said: “Before the new guidelines were introduced, there were alarming stories of diagnostic specimens being carried around in everything from cardboard boxes to toolboxes. That clearly had huge implications for hygiene and security which needed to be addressed. There were also concerns from transport and logistics professionals in the health sector about the comfort and safety of staff carrying around heavy or cumbersome vessels like that.

“What we aimed for was to design a new type of bag, which had a sufficiently robust structure and secure seals to comply with the guidelines. We made sure that our bags could survive the drop test completely unscathed and, with every order received, we provide the certification that confirms this.
“Having spoken to medical transport staff as part of our research, we were also very keen to make sure our bags were comfortable and user-friendly, so we developed a soft outer shell with carry handles.”

Versapak has supplied bags to approximately two-thirds of NHS hospitals, private hospitals and clinics since launching the approved range, but is strongly urging the remainder to ensure they have proof their bags meet all the criteria of the UN3373 guidelines.

“Take-up of the compliant Versapak bags has been very good but we’re mindful there are a large number of hospitals that haven’t yet placed orders with us. We simply want to help ensure they feel comfortable the particular bags they are using are in line with the UN3373 guidelines.”

Versapak supplies a wide range of compliant products to hospitals including secure and tamper-evident bags for blood, vaccines, specimens, pathology samples, X-rays and medical records.

Visit www.versapak.co.uk/shop/medical for details.

For Video news covering this story please visit our sister site, That's New TV
http://thatsnewstv.blogspot.com/2011/06/shocking-new-research-shows-30-of.html

Stopping Dehydration In Hospitals - A Brilliant, Yet Simple Solution

The Hydrant - Solving the problem of reaching or holding drinks.

In healthcare one of the biggest causes of dehydration, and associated problems such as urinary tract infections and constipation, is not lack of fluid but lack of easy access to that fluid without calling for help.

Developed as a result of personal experience in hospital following an operation The Award Winning Hydrant is a simple, low cost, hands-free drinking system - that makes it easy for users to help themselves to drinks whenever they want.

The Hydrant solves the problem in a very simple way - an ingenious cap/handle/clip mechanism enables the user to hang it, hook it or clip it...almost anywhere!!

For hospitals, for care homes and for people living at home with conditions that make them bed, chair or wheelchair bound. It gives independence back to those who would otherwise need help with something as basic as getting a drink.

A study in an NHS Hospital using the Hydrant called 'Putting Dehydration to bed within the NHS' has indicated the following:

* 20% reduction in length of stay
* 97% reduction in recorded incidence of dehydration and
* 100% reduction in urinary infections through simply keeping patients correctly hydrated. Further studies and trials are now in hand
* If replicated nationally it could save the NHS £5 Billion per year

"It has hugely improved the quality of life for our patients and as such The Hydrant should be a standard part of any hospital's armour in the battle against dehydration" Liz Evans, Nutrition Nurse Specialist, Stoke Mandeville Hospital and Chair of the National Nurses Nutritional Group

Jim Easton, NHS National Director for Improvement and Efficiency, in a Keynote speech at the recent Healthcare Innovation Expo in London said: "The Hydrant......cheap, easy to implement, tackling the most basic problem. Potentially one of the ideas with the highest return to investment ratio I have ever seen'

The South Central Strategic Health Authority at the same Expo has calculated that:

'Every £1 spent on The Hydrant saves £16'

Available via NHS Supply Chain (code UMT004) and 'daily living aid' companies

www.hydrateforhealth.co.uk Email info@hydrateforhealth.co.uk

Healthcare can’t afford to ignore compliance issues

Recently, the General Medical Council said that existing European rules, banning its testing of GPs’ language skills, represent a risk to patient safety after reports emerged that some doctors are unable to communicate in English.

With growing awareness of professional misconduct in the medical sector and GMC plans to introduce changes to the way it treats the fitness to practice impairment, it’s time for medical recruitment to increase its focus on compliance, says medical recruiter, Your World.

Tony Moss, Managing Director of Your World says: “The problems that have arisen from recruiting EU citizens who are unable to communicate in English and have little knowledge of UK hospital procedures, are now spreading from being an issue surrounding doctors into the nursing profession.”

Poor English is not the only issue affecting the medical profession. Reports have indicated that bogus doctors from overseas can enter the NHS by showing fake certificates or ID, and some are even capable of hiding suspensions in their home countries due to a lack of standard checks. Even qualified doctors from other countries can struggle to carry out procedures that are standard in Britain, due to the differences in training. Tony Moss believes that EU directives need to take language and cultural gaps into account.

“The problem lies with lenient rules and lack of prevention plans” says Moss. “Recruiters and the NHS should not be afraid to say no to those who are unprepared for the fast-paced NHS environment or to decline EU professionals whose standard of English is not high enough. If they don’t perform enough security checks they could be employing unprepared or even unqualified medical staff who will be responsible for people’s lives. Medical institutions and recruiters alike should be taking greater steps in ensuring that their candidates are up to par.”

Your World has its own dedicated compliance teams in both the UK and Australia, as well as having a strict vetting procedure, regular training courses and continuing professional development for candidates. Moss adds “We ensure that our compliance and recruitment teams check everyone’s qualifications, experience and references throughout the registration process and beyond.”

The GMC EU directives will be reviewed in 2012 and the GMC is consulting separately on major changes to the way fitness to practice cases are dealt with at the end of an investigation.