WHAT’S NEW?


The SAFE report identified five key consequences of poor medicines management in this area:


1. Missing keys; finding medication cupboard keys wastes valuable time for staff and patients


2. Controlled Drugs Register: a full CD count has to be undertaken twice a day which is time consuming


3. Poor stock control: poor medicines handling results in over-stock and out of date stock and unnecessary waste


4. Poor discharge processes: patients are oſten made to wait to take home medication resulting in a poor flow of patients through the system


5. Lack of medication audit trail: the lack of audit trail of which drug, dose, patient, time and person administering can compromise safety through missed or repeated doses.


cope with winter pressures; NHS hospitals which have installed these systems have found that they;


• Improve patient safety: reducing incidents of missed doses


• Improve productivity and efficiency: reducing ad-hoc ordering, stock- outs and wastage and replacing CD paper registers. As well as cutting staff time searching for keys and topping-up ‘old fashioned’ medicine cupboards – meaning more time can be spent on patient care.


• Fuel much needed costs savings: reducing stock line, consumption & expiry losses


• Improve ‘swiſt and safe’ patient discharge: thereby reducing ‘bed- blocking’


The report highlights the key role the discharge process plays from A&E to the ward, particularly around medicines, which has not been designed for the extra demand that is now being placed on them. In short, poor medicines management from old systems and working practices hugely impacts A&E discharge times


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and the ‘flow’ of patients throughout a hospital with huge consequences. It is imperative that A&E staff have quick and easy access to medicines and are not diverted from clinical care to the logistics of medicines supply.


The report’s findings concur with a number of leading voices and reviews calling for change in this area. Yet, surprisingly, despite recent analysis and recommendations from NHS England’s Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward Plan (March 2017), the Lord Carter report and the subsequent CQC report into patient safety within the NHS, many hospitals are yet to automate their medication process. As winter approaches and pressures mount on A&E departments, nurses and frontline staff, Omnicell is calling for medication-based automation to become a standard of care in A&E departments up and down the country.


Automation creates a reliable system for administrating medicines to patients. It gives the reassurance that the right medicine is available for the right patient, at the right time. Nurses are able to log into the systems using a PIN


code or fingerprint and are guided to the medication by a flashing light to the correct drawer. A full audit trail, in the event of a product recall, is available at the touch of a button.


Paul O’Hanlon, Managing Director at Omnicell UK & Ireland, commented: “We are delighted to launch our SAFE report and A&E Standard of Care booklet. Transformational change, even in the most challenging of circumstances is possible to help deliver a world class health system.


“We have worked with Trusts, nurses and pharmacists who have embraced new technology and improved patient experience and safety. We hope that this report and booklet will help the NHS share best practice and learnings from medication-based automation and show how introducing efficiencies provides a safety net for professionals managing medicines and ensure quality care remains at the forefront of our NHS.”


For a copy of the SAFE report or A&E standard of care booklet contact marketinguk@omnicell.com


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