PATIENT RESPONSE TECHNOLOGY The chief executive’s view
The project to implement and install the Ascom system was led, and indeed championed by, the Chase Farm Hospital’s chief executive and director of Nursing, Natalie Forrest. She said: “Crucially, the technology development work was done by clinicians, instead of to clinicians. It meant that we had genuine engagement with nurses and other stakeholders as we carefully planned the hospital from the start – taking in the views of estates, IT, domestic staff, porters, ‘admin’, and allied health and medical staff.
“With 42 single rooms we faced the challenge of making the ‘invisible’ patient visible, and addressing our nurses’ key concern: that they might miss a serious clinical issue while attending to other tasks away from the patient. The nurse call system linked to smartphones ensures that they can contact anyone, including patients, directly, and know what’s going on in their clinical area, even when they are elsewhere.”
She added: “The hospital was delivered on target and within budget – a tremendous achievement, of which the entire team is very proud.”
A Myco 3 handset. Alerts can be sent via the Telligence hardware directly to staff responsible for particular patients via their Myco 2/3 handsets, and users can also access data on the devices while on the move.
Chase Farm Hospital, without introducing issues. Working with the Redevelopment Team and the external suppliers, we were able to redesign the solution to meet the requirements, while also future-proofing the installation – from both a network and a nurse call perspective. This effectively resulted in a new ‘European’ configuration being developed. The system leverages the hospital’s existing physical and wireless infrastructure, allowing the handsets to be used anywhere within the Trust.
Interoperability
As a hospital using multi-vendor equipment, we also needed to ensure that our nurse call system was fully interoperable with technology from other suppliers at Chase Farm, including GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, and various ‘app’ providers. This ensured that alerts can be sent via the Telligence hardware directly to staff responsible for particular
patients via their Myco handsets, and, crucially, also allows them to access data while on the move. Working smarter, not harder, with digital integration has meant we have moved into a larger space with an increased inpatient flow, while maintaining the same staffing numbers. (In fact, Fiona Morcom explained – when I met her, along with the hospital’s chief executive, Natalie Forrest, and a number of other key project team members in late July – original predictions were that to deliver the same level of care to patients in the new 50-bed inpatient ward, an additional 12 nursing staff would be needed).
Hardware
Looking at the hardware deployed, Ascom Myco 2 and 3 handsets are held by nurses, medical, and AHP staff, as well as our concierge staff, who greet all visitors and patients, and can rapidly direct them to where they need to be. They are effectively internal telephone extensions, making it a simple matter for staff to keep in touch with each other. Ascom’s i62 handsets, meanwhile, are held by domestic, housekeeping, security
staff, and porters. Nurse call panels assigned to individual areas link all handsets, and allow role-specific tasks to be entered, so that individuals can be messaged directly and directed to where they are needed. ‘Domestic workflow’ buttons at bedheads in clinical areas are also linked to these handsets, so that porters, domestics, or housekeepers, can be contacted directly at the press of a single button. Emergency buttons or pulls are located throughout, and, as with the entire system, are fully configurable, meaning that users of a range of handsets across the whole site can be made aware instantly of an issue. Dome lights above the door of each inpatient room are linked to the system. An emergency pull by a nurse or doctor will generate a flashing ‘red’, with the nurse call software simultaneously immediately alerting all relevant staff via their handsets. The overdoor lights also signal, via a colour- coded system, if a porter or domestic is required, and are used to show ‘staff presence’.
Rapid visibility
Nurses at Chase Farm Hospital have responded enthusiastically to the Ascom system’s installation; it is speeding response times and enhancing efficiency.
One of the overdoor lights’ key benefits on a long 50-bed ward on a single corridor is that a nurse can see immediately such a light is illuminated,
October 2019 Health Estate Journal 87
Tricia Lenoir, a Recovery Sister at the new Chase Farm Hospital, making use of one of the new Myco handsets.
©The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust
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