DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Left: The use of digital technology is one way MKUH is finding solutions to deliver service efficiencies and provide additional support for its workforce. Right: Improving operations through innovative technology has become a viable means to support the healthcare sector against multifaceted challenges.
The use of digital technology is one way the hospital is finding solutions to deliver service efficiencies and provide additional support for its workforce.
Digitising the ward In 2020, MKUH opened its new cancer centre. The purpose-built facility’s modern design features a high percentage of single patient rooms, plus several open- plan clinical assessment areas. It is argued that single-patient rooms provide a better patient experience, with increased privacy, and the ability to personalise the care environment. Due to their benefits, single- room wards are beginning to become commonplace in new hospital builds, and will be a key feature within the NHP, where the Government’s intent is to build new healthcare facilities fit for the future. Despite their advantages, single-
room wards have uncovered some new operational challenges. “In wards where we have single patient rooms, nurses have told us they find themselves spending significantly more time trying to locate other members of staff and equipment,” explains Rebecca Grindley, NHP Programme Director at MKUH. “They have also identified how this was causing a high number of non-clinical disturbances in patient rooms, and an increase in noise levels across the ward, as nurses need to call out to find other staff. We know single patient rooms will be incorporated as part of our new Women’s and Children’s Hospital; therefore we were keen to see how digital twin technology could help solve these challenges and support us in providing the best possible care for patients.” It was identified that digital twins
could create a digitised representation of the ward as a map, with real-time data allowing for an immediate overview of
62 Health Estate Journal August 2024
staff, equipment, and room occupancy. Key to this was the technology that could deliver the required data. MKUH engaged Haltian, a global Internet of Things (IoT) specialist, to help develop and trial the Digital Twin concept for a hospital setting. Haltian had already previously developed a platform called Empathic Building for visualising digital representation of office spaces and monitoring occupancy. Working together, the Empathic Building platform was developed to provide a digital representation of the MKUH cancer centre inpatient ward using Haltian Thingsee IoT sensors and a Real-Time Locating System (RTLS) to provide a real- time digital view of what was happening on the ward.
Screens at staff stations Large screens installed at staff stations presented the mapped-out location of equipment and staff, as well as room occupancy. Staff voluntarily opted in to be traced via a personal location tag, which allowed their data to be visualised on the digital twin map. Greater numbers of staff opted in as the benefits of the project became noticeable, with recent staff surveys suggesting that 72% of the cancer ward had opted in. “The impact was quickly noticeable,”
says Rebecca Grindley. “A staff survey showed that 83% of staff on the ward felt they spent less time searching for their colleagues and medical equipment, allowing them to use the time more effectively caring for patients. Staff also reported a marked reduction in patient disturbances, particularly at night.” The insight into staff and equipment
location on a hospital ward was just the beginning for MKUH. The IoT sensors that had been fitted also gave insight into various environmental factors, such as
temperature, lighting, CO2 , and humidity.
MKUH wanted to see if this information could be used to reduce energy consumption by integrating the ‘Empathic Building’ platform with its Building Management System (BMS). MKUH approached a BMS specialist,
AES Controls, to see if this was possible, which led to a new project trial within a newly renovated administration office at the hospital. AES Controls has been a long-time partner of Trend Controls, a Honeywell company and provider of BMS and building control systems, and was supported by the Trend team on the project.
AES first managed to use Haltian’s APIs
to integrate the Digital Twin data into the Trend IQVISION supervisor system. Built on the powerful Niagara 4 platform, IQVISION can integrate Trend controllers, third-party devices, and internet protocols into a single, centralised software platform for managing buildings at an enterprise level.
Powerful control features With the data now available within the IQ Vision, AES incrementally set up control features that could efficiently manage the office area’s heating, ventilation, and air- conditioning (HVAC) system. Just as the digital twin had given MKUH’s ward staff a clear picture of activity, the platform’s data was able to give AES and the hospital’s Estates & Facilities team visibility of building usage, and allow them to make changes to the BMS accordingly. “The first step for us was to use the building’s occupancy data to understand how rooms and parts of the building were typically used,” explains Craig Mason, Account Manager – Support Services, at AES. “When we could see what times rooms would become unoccupied on a
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AdobeStock / Gorodenkoff
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