Clinical engineering
so we must prepare for a technological revolution in medicine. Patients must become experts in their own health, so they can be involved in decisions, while taking part in designing healthcare. Digitisation can make care more affordable and available, ensuring sustainability, while there is also a shift in focus towards prevention. The public must be enabled to live healthier lives by reforming healthcare based on widespread access to health data. “Patients can already buy healthcare related equipment on the internet…So, what’s our role in managing some of these new products? It may be borderline as to whether they are a medical device or a healthcare technology, and what are we doing, in our services, around software as a medical device? There are some real challenges here,” he commented. “During my career, I increasingly spent a lot
of time working with healthcare professionals. Today, I would be increasingly talking to patients – as there are many more devices in patients’ homes now. Patients operating equipment is very different to healthcare professionals – what’s our role in educating our patient population and in the shift from treatment to prevention?” he questioned. Prof. Scott also pointed out that clinical engineers should have a role in helping bring innovation into the NHS. The UK government’s life science sector plan and the MedTech strategy, underscore the economic and strategic importance of medical technology to the UK. “MedTech is huge for the UK economy – £27 billion pounds a year is the estimate. I’m working
I would redefine ‘cost improvement’ and call it ‘clinically intelligent procurement’. If we can standardise what we use, it becomes safer and it becomes cheaper.
with a lot of small and medium enterprise companies who are developing new and novel equipment. They have two challenges – they don’t have big regulatory affairs departments, so they don’t know how to get their products CE marked or UKCA marked, and they don’t know how to get them into the NHS. In addition, they don’t know that we exist as a profession. I’m looking to work with those companies to help them get their products over the line and approved…Over the years, I’ve seen so many good ideas fail because a University spin out doesn’t know how to make them safe and effective, or how to build them to the right standards.”
He added that clinical engineering departments need to advance their services to think about ‘proactive asset management’. There is a need to better utilise inventory data (a typical 1000-bed hospital has over 50,000 assets) and there needs to be a focus on the cost of ownership – taking into consideration the cost of consumables, not just capital equipment. Trusts are spending an estimated £70 million per year on consumables, he pointed out. Prof. Scott suggested that clinical engineers should have an active role in helping Trusts identify cost improvement programmes:
“However, I would redefine ‘cost improvement’ and call it ‘clinically intelligent procurement’. If we can standardise what we use, it becomes safer and it becomes cheaper,” he asserted. “I think we’re sitting on a lot of information…
My challenge to you is: are we using that? Are we sharing that with our executives? Nobody will come to a meeting, if you invite them to a ‘cost improvement meeting’
...Instead, you invite people to a meeting – clinicians included – and say, ‘how do we clinically standardise?’” Prof. Scott advised. He went on to emphasise the importance of
quality systems and international standards as tools for best practice and risk management, as well as highlighting the importance of an innovation adoption framework. “Do you have a procedure for adopting
innovative devices?” he asked the audience. “I would guess not…but we should – that’s where clinical engineering should go,” he commented. If a technology is adopted, and it’s similar
to existing equipment in the Trust, it is straightforward, he pointed out; however, the adoption of an innovative technology presents new challenges.
“What do we do as clinical engineers to keep it safe and how do we develop competencies in our workforce?” he questioned. He suggested that there is a need to:
l Develop procedures for introducing new technologies.
l Use existing international standards rather than “reinventing the wheel”.
l Create clinical scientific faculties to evaluate new technologies.
In particular, the sector is having to get to grips with medical equipment with AI: “How are we going to do the planned maintenance on this equipment? You need to see what standards are available already,” he commented. Following standards are like “following a
recipe”, he asserted, highlighting ISO/IEC 42001, which has been developed to ensure ethical and responsible use of AI technologies. Ultimately, clinical engineering has a vital
role to play in supporting and advancing care, going forward. Clinical engineers should be developing healthcare technology roadmaps for their organisations. They need to keep doing “the basics well”, but there are opportunities for services to evolve and play a greater role in leading change. The sector needs to promote
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www.clinicalservicesjournal.com I Deecmber 2025
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