EBME Expo
he asserted. Others in the Network highlighted that, in terms of policy, there are “lots of pockets of collaboration”. John Sandham added that “the technology is there, but the people are not”, while Helen Meese pointed out there is a need for a strategy from government around regulatory standards and guidance to ensure that the technology is “ready to go and available to the public”. Such standards will help give patients the confidence that “it’s the right thing to do”.
Will technology exacerbate inequalities? Equitable access to digital technologies for patients was another consideration raised by the panel. In areas of deprivation, energy bills and the cost of Wi-Fi connection are a real barrier to adoption of connected medical devices in the home. The reality is such that, due to fuel poverty, some people are having to minimise or even switch off their electricity. When pushing for more internet-based medical devices to be installed in people’s homes, patients are not being consulted about the costs involved and there has been a lack of discussion around who is going to pay for these services when the patient is unable. Therefore, we inadvertently risk excluding some sections of society – often these are the people with the most healthcare need. Caroline Finlay added that a technology- based model of care at home was particularly challenging for elderly patients with complex needs – not least due to their unfamiliarity and discomfort with technology. “Hospitals do not have the resources, the
coordination or the capability to manage this care in patients’ homes,” she commented, pointing out that hospitals already face difficulties coordinating care for people that are going home to die. Therefore, is it realistic to expect hospitals to have the capacity to coordinate complex and ongoing health needs in patients’ homes?
Procurement Luella Trickett, a Director at the Association of British HealthTech Industries (ABHI), went on to highlight the challenges around HealthTech adoption and the current fiscal environment. She identified the fact that there are some key challenges around the lack of strategic procurement – all too often, there is a race to spend the ‘end of financial year budget’ and equipment is often replaced with like-for-like. “When a piece of equipment is on its last legs, the knee-jerk reaction is to just replace it with the same thing. That isn’t what we should be doing. We should be replacing it with what
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we need in the future and looking at things like enterprise solutions and connectivity, so we have equipment that talks to each other. We should be buying something that does something different, so we get a different outcome,” she asserted. Others in the Network agreed that there
needs to be a shift to value-based procurement rather than opting for the cheapest possible solution. We need to look at the “bigger picture” when implementing technology. What is the most efficient solution? Which technology offers the best outcomes and the best patient experience? And which HealthTech could help the NHS achieve its strategic ambitions in the long-term?
Helen Meese also raised the issue that very
few engineers work in procurement. If we are to persuade Trusts to make better decisions around technology, we will need to “have engineers holding the purse strings” in a more controlled way, she commented.
Raising the profile of EBME Another hot topic during the discussion was the need to raise the profile of the EBME profession in healthcare. Each year, 15,000 people are harmed because of misuse of medical devices. EBME departments have a vital role in protecting patients and staff, by minimising the risks, but there needs to be greater investment in the workforce, equipment and training. The Network pointed out that there are a
wide variety of job titles covering the role and this lack of standardisation makes it difficult for individuals to be identified and visible within organisations – some hospitals prefer the term
‘EBME’, while others favour ‘Clinical Engineering’; however, there are many more variations, as the Network pointed out. This lack of consistency and visibility makes it challenging to achieve influence at both a Government and Trust level. Having a standardised title across the UK is a first step in promoting a better understanding of the vital contribution that engineers provide in the delivery of safe and efficient patient care. As the role has evolved, some Network members suggested that a better title may be needed to “encapsulate all that we do” – ‘healthcare technology management’ or ‘clinical technology management’ were some of the preferred descriptions suggested. Caroline Finlay highlighted the need for
a change in culture – to break down the current tendency for ‘silo working’ between departments in hospitals, and move towards more collaborative working across Trusts. Skills sets and resources could be shared, she suggested. “You don’t have to be an expert in procurement at every single Trust. There needs to be a way of actually sharing that resource. I used to talk about ‘regional clinical engineering facilities’. It’s probably moved on from that, but I do think that there’s a level of core expertise that could be spread between a number of different hospitals,” she commented. In her view, clinical engineering teams need
to be less protective about their own areas and focus, instead, on “bringing expertise together”. John Sandham commented that one of the biggest issues across the NHS (and also in the private sector) is the fact that there is “not enough focus on strategic medical equipment management”.
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