HOSPITALS & HEALTHCARE FACILITIES DILEMMA DISSECTION
It is clear that a technologically enabled NHS is the way forward and key to meeting growing patient demands, says Mitie. Outsourcers must challenge themselves more.
Since the NHS was introduced more than 70 years ago, the UK population’s life expectancy has risen by an average of 10 years. As this figure continues to increase, there are ever increasing demands and pressures on our NHS.
That’s why private outsourcers need to face up to our responsibility to drive innovation in healthcare; we aren’t simply here to support the NHS, we have a vital role to play in bringing the latest technology and introducing new, smarter ways of working for this critically important client.
In an environment where time is pressured, speed and accuracy are valuable commodities. With beds in demand, innovations which increase room turnaround are very welcome. Historically, chlorine was the most commonly used method for sterilising surfaces which took time and posed a risk to staff health.
“The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work found that almost three quarters (74%) of interior cleaners reported
experiencing muscular aches and pains in the past year.”
In comparison, we can now sterilise an entire room in just three minutes by using UV technology. This is courtesy of a small, mobile machine which can be wheeled between rooms. Not only does this eliminate fume inhalation for staff, but pathogens may become resistant to the chemicals found in chlorine, which means that bacteria can continue to multiply.
A healthy workforce is paramount; the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work found that almost three quarters (74%) of interior cleaners reported experiencing muscular aches and pains in the past year. Introducing innovative new equipment can help combat this problem. Robot cleaners can reduce the physical strain experienced when cleaning by taking on more strenuous and repetitive tasks, and minimising the time spent bending the spine and twisting the body.
Robot cleaners, such as ‘Moptimus Prime’ the floor cleaning robot at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, can be custom made and use a mapping system to guide themselves round a hospital to complete pre-programmed cleaning duties. Using ultraviolet technology to obliterate 99.9% of viruses and bacteria, in conjunction with robot cleaners frees up staff to focus on other tasks and interact with patients.
54 | TOMORROW’S FM
From an alternative perspective, technology can greatly optimise the way resources are deployed. FMs can challenge the traditional rota-based cleaning schedule by introducing interactive feedback monitors which allow hospital users to report areas that need immediate attention, for example, by placing sensors in toilets to measure footfall. This live information highlights which areas of the hospital have been busy and need cleaning more regularly. Data can be directly shared with on duty cleaners, often via a smart watch, so they can attend flagged sites straight away. Dynamic route planning means that issues, such as spillages, can be reported in real time and dealt with to minimise risk to both hospital users and staff, it also reduces reliance on the traditional rota where problem areas may not be noticed until the next scheduled clean.
Optimising the lifecycle of equipment via predictive maintenance can offer significant cost savings. Cleaning kit can be costly, but by fitting sensors, we can monitor the ‘health’ of the kit so that potential faults can be flagged before they have occurred, and breakage can be prevented by intervening at an earlier stage.
This type of data can be reported via dashboards, which means the client has total visibility and the knowledge that money is well spent. By knowing where to invest money and where it would be wasted, cost savings can be passed onto the client, and we’ve seen these funds redirected to other areas of Trusts where they can be used to support patient care.
It may not be immediately obvious but indoor location solutions can be deployed to great effect in a hospital environment. By looking at the porters, facilities teams and supporting health professionals that provide patient transfers, blood movements, equipment requests, housekeeping, pharmacy services and many more day-to- day tasks, we have proven that knowing where people are, indoors in real-time, unlocks significant improvements in their workflow and efficiency.
Much like the logistics industry, which has dramatically cut delivery times and enabled just-in-time inventory for retail using GPS location data. In fact, indoor location solutions are perfect to combat delays experienced by patients waiting to be transported to and from appointments. Arming staff with smart devices containing indoors geo location technology means that workload is prioritised in real-time based on the principle of ‘right person, right place, right time’.
All of this is done in an automated fashion, requiring little, if any, management intervention. This technology removes unnecessary walking, eliminates double bookings, reduces need for clinical resources to carry out non-
twitter.com/TomorrowsFM
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86
