Foam mattresses are crucial to affected person security and luxury however managing them throughout three giant hospitals is difficult for any healthcare entity. To stop sufferers from creating strain ulcers and guarantee hygiene, every mattress should endure common inspections
In England, rules stipulated by the unbiased regulator of well being and social care Care High quality Fee (CQC) requires hospitals to show when every mattress was final checked and whether or not it handed an outlined set of security and cleanliness standards.
To satisfy these requirements, East Kent Hospitals NHS Belief (EKHUFT) is likely one of the first to make use of RFiD Discovery’s RFID-based monitoring system to remodel the best way it displays and maintains its mattress stock. EKHUFT is likely one of the largest hospital trusts in England, delivering acute care companies throughout a number of websites together with Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mom Hospital, Kent & Canterbury Hospital and William Harvey Hospital.
Monitoring Mattresses
The answer permits automated compliance checks, exact location monitoring, and dependable traceability for each mattress throughout its hospital community. EKHUFT’s earlier course of relied on handbook checks with outcomes written immediately onto mattress covers— a way that was inefficient, inconsistent, and lacked any centralized audit functionality.
Moreover, figuring out and finding particular person mattresses was troublesome. Handbook strategies like barcode scanning required bodily contact or line-of-sight visibility, which posed a danger when dealing with contaminated or severely dirty gadgets.
Partnership with RFiD Discovery
RFiD Discovery, a Paragon ID firm, is the UK chief in built-in identification and placement monitoring options, with deployments in over 200 hospitals. In its partnership with EKHUFT, an RFID-enabled mattress monitoring system was deployed to cowl 1,700 foam mattresses throughout its hospitals.
The answer leverages the prevailing RFiD Discovery medical machine monitoring infrastructure in place at EKHUFT’s three websites to seize mattress places, together with fastened passive RFID readers in key areas just like the mattress retailer, an RFID trolley pushed round wards throughout audits, and handheld RFID readers used for spot checks in smaller areas.
To trace foam mattresses, every was fitted with two passive RFID tags: An inside label, inserted contained in the mattress cowl at one finish and an exterior rubber tag containing the identical distinctive identifier, connected to the zip by way of a small cable tie.
This dual-tag design maximizes the probabilities of the mattress being detected by RFID readers.
When mattresses attain the top of their life, the exterior tag is eliminated on the disposal level and positioned right into a good RFID disposal bin outfitted with inside readers. The system mechanically updates information, removes the mattress from circulation and offers an audit path of disposal.
New Protocols
Nursing groups perform a structured seven-point mattress examine annually utilizing a devoted app on the RFiD Discovery handheld reader.
“This ensures the proper mattress is being checked by matching every RFID tag to its corresponding report within the database in order that inspection outcomes are mechanically and appropriately logged towards the precise asset,” stated Arron Duddin, Basic Supervisor at RFiD Discovery.
The app then guides the consumer via the required inspection levels which features a complete evaluation of the mattress’ exterior situation, inside foam integrity, odour, and total performance. Outcomes are recorded immediately within the system and uploaded in actual time to a centralized database.
The system is used to report the results of an acceptance take a look at when foam mattresses are first delivered, guaranteeing that each mattress getting into circulation meets high quality and security requirements from day one.
Advantages of a RFID System
In response to each RFiD Discovery and EKHUFT officers, the implementation of RFID mattress monitoring delivered a number of key advantages:
- Compliance & Assurance. The Belief can present digital proof of inspection and disposal to the CQC and inside auditors, strengthening accountability and offering full traceability.
- Affected person Care and Security. By making it straightforward to find mattresses due for inspection the answer helps to make sure that all are checked as required. This implies defective or contaminated mattresses might be recognized and eliminated, lowering dangers of an infection and strain ulcers.
- Operational Effectivity. Automating mattress identification and disposal monitoring eliminates handbook record-keeping and reduces administrative burden, whereas the power to find mattresses shortly saves time to enhance effectivity.
- An infection Management. RFID readers can scan and establish mattresses with out requiring bodily contact or visible entry to tags – excellent for an infection management when coping with contaminated or severely dirty mattresses.
- Asset Visibility & Future Planning. By mechanically capturing correct details about mattress standing and disposal, the system offers correct information of accessible, in service or unfit-for-use mattresses to help planning and inform procurement selections.
By extending the usage of RFiD Discovery’s passive RFID system from monitoring medical units to on a regular basis affected person care belongings like foam mattresses, East Kent Hospitals NHS Belief is demonstrating true innovation in healthcare asset administration.
“Above all, the strategy safeguards sufferers and likewise ensures the Belief meets regulatory necessities whereas maximizing operational effectivity,” stated Andy Barrow, Andy Barrow, Medical Engineering & Radiology Upkeep at 2Gether Help Options (subsidiary of East Kent NHS Belief). “This pioneering initiative is setting a brand new normal for mattress administration throughout the NHS, providing a mannequin that different healthcare suppliers can replicate.”
