EBME
different routes across the country, as different areas decide on a different pattern,” he continued. “We have lots of patients with COPD who we provide CPAP devices to, via the chest clinic in our hospital. Patients come in to see our nurses for their health check-up and, if their device is due for a service, we come into the clinic and check it over. That’s fine, as it is controlled by the hospital, but what routes will there be for other devices in patients’ homes? And, if we’re going to get private sector providers involved, how is that going to impact, as well?” The panelists questioned how HealthTech in the community setting will be effectively managed and serviced, to ensure they are compliant. Loss of assets in the community presents issues and technical training for the users will also be required. “I’m not sure that we are quite ready for it,” one EBME leader commented. “We definitely need some guidance from MHRA with regards to managing equipment in the community,” another suggested. The delegates agreed that EBME leads need to push for a model for the effective management of medical technologies, before the virtual ward initiative expands much further. This will be preferable to allowing things to develop and then trying to manage chaotic and fragmented systems further down the line. “We need to solve the problem before it becomes too big,” Iain Threlkeld summarised.
Considerations for the workforce Maintaining medical devices in the community will have significant work force implications – the NHS will require mobile engineers to visit people’s homes and a lot of time will be spent on travelling. Therefore, the health service will need to recruit and train many more engineers.
It was suggested that the virtual hospital could learn
a lot from the military, who have extensive experience of maintaining dispersed assets in the field. Pool kits are used on the battlefield, one of the delegates explained. One Trust has implemented a system where a box
(effectively a pool kit) is sent out to patients in the community, with a pulse oximeter, BP machine and a thermometer, for example. The technologies are linked via an iPad and instructions are supplied in multiple languages (appropriate for the region). The set up is kept simple in order to cater to people who
There is a growing need for engineers to not only be biomedically and electrically trained, but to also ‘learn the basics of networking’.
November 2025 Health Estate Journal 69
AdobeStock / Victor
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
