CAPITAL EQUIPMENT SELECTION
Clinical users – including nursing staff, consultants, Operating Department Practitioners, and support workers, are among those personnel and disciplines who the author says may effectively input into equipment decision-making and solutions.
n The selection of equipment should consider the NHS Digital Strategy, innovation, and environmental impact, and other local matters – including maintenance, replacement, and IPC policies. Having this detail facilitates early 1:50 development, and supports standardisation and NHP design principles.
n Collaborative input from clinical users, internal and external specialists, equipment suppliers, and contractors, is also important in identifying the equipment that will best support the planned activity, is clinically acceptable, and within budget.
n Consideration of the range of funding sources available to be considered, such as capital, charitable funding, Managed Equipment Service, or rental. The optimum funding solution will depend on a variety of local factors and national influences, including the type of equipment, the level of investment, any requirement for ongoing maintenance, quantity sources, or the likelihood of advances in technology.
Equipment Strategy The Project Equipment Strategy has been developed in collaboration with MJ Medical detailing the procedures, policies,
The Hospitals of the Future Project in Leeds is described as ‘a new landmark hospital development that sits at the forefront of the Government’s New Hospital Programme’.
processes and plans. The Equipment Strategy considers the process of identifying what equipment is suitable for transfer, how new equipment will be specified, selected, procured, and funded, and how / where it will be delivered/ stored (on site or off-site), commissioned, configured, and made ready for user training and patient care. The Equipment Strategy also describes who is responsible for selecting equipment, who will procure it, who will install it, and who will be responsible for ongoing maintenance and replacement in the future. The days of considering equipment in
isolation as a standalone item have now almost gone – with design, procurement, and commissioning decisions being replaced with the requirement for digital and building interfaces and an era of connected technology, plus an ambition for data collection, transmission, and storage. Modern medical devices are increasingly being designed and developed to integrate with the Electronic Patient Record (EPR), or use middleware to generate alerts to be sent to smartphones and digital display media etc., to provide results, share information, or to escalate a response to a patient in deteriorating condition. The
interdependence of medical equipment and our digital ambition has led to strong collaboration between the equipment and digital workstreams, sharing the digital and data needs of medical equipment, and ensuring that they are specified and included in the digital infrastructure design.
Benefits of transferring medical equipment It may be counter-intuitive to consider transferring existing medical equipment rather than purchasing all new, but I believe there are advantages, including: n Reduced impact on the project budget, and thus capital charges for new equipment.
n Reduced capital charge write-off for disposed assets that are not fully depreciated.
n Less financial impact on future capital replacement plans – no big spike in demand for capital funds in 7 to 10 years’ time.
n Reduced commissioning resource for electrical safety testing, set-up / configuration time.
n Less packaging materials to dispose of. n Less time lost for clinical user training, as users already trained.
n Fewer deliveries to the new build – environmental benefits, traffic
September 2024 Health Estate Journal 49
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