Health Business 17.1

Patient Centred Care Platform

VOLUME 17.1 www.healthbusinessuk.net

CATERING

HEALTHCARE IT

GS1 STANDARDS

MODULAR BUILDINGS

BUYING CHEAPER, BUILDING GREENER

To deal with influxes in demand, modular buildings offer a quick and environmentally‑friendly construction option

E-ROSTERING

STAFF SCHEDULING

An effective e-rostering system can provide real-time data to staff and improve waiting times

PLUS: AGEING | FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | FINANCE | PATIENT SAFETY

HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE ISSUE 17.1 Patient Centred Care Platform

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CATERING

HEALTHCARE IT

Comment

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Retainment concerns grow as Brexit looms

GS1 STANDARDS

The BMA has revealed that 42 per cent of European doctors are considering leaving the UK following Britain’s vote to leave the EU, with a further 23 per cent unsure.

MODULAR BUILDINGS

BUYING CHEAPER, BUILDING GREENER

To deal with influxes in demand, modular buildings offer a quick and environmentally-friendly construction option

E-ROSTERING

STAFF SCHEDULING

An effective e-rostering system can provide real-time data to staff and improve waiting times

PLUS: AGEING | FACILITIES MANAGEMENT | FINANCE | PATIENT SAFETY

The threat of staff departures and the likely difficulty to continue recruiting from the EU once Article 50 is invoked is not fresh news. These are concerns that have been readily vocalised since before the June 2016 referendum. BMA chair Dr Mark Porter has expressed his concern that an increasing number of EU doctors departing the UK would be a ‘disaster’ and is calling for ‘long-term stability’.

But there has been little said by Parliament on how it is to address the problem, despite the mounting staff shortages already facing the NHS. Uncertainty breeds indecision, and further indecision in the NHS has never been more unwelcome. Recent BBC analysis has shown that hospital services in nearly two-thirds of England could be cut or scaled back – only serving to increase the use of the phrase ‘breaking point’ in reference to the NHS.

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Meanwhile, researchers have suggested that extending your daily diet to include 10 pieces of fruit and vegetables, compared to the recommended five-a-day, could prevent 7.8 million premature deaths each year. With analysis showing that Jeremy Hunt’s key food improvements are failing to be implemented across the UK (see page 59), it’ll be interesting to see how these latest recommendations are received.

Michael Lyons, editor

P ONLINE P IN PRINT P MOBILE P FACE TO FACE If you would like to receive all issues of Health Business magazine for £120 a year, please contact Public Sector Information Limited, 226 High Road, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055, Fax: 020 8532 0066, or visit the Health Business website at:

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226 High Rd, Loughton, Essex IG10 1ET. Tel: 020 8532 0055 Fax: 020 8532 0066 Web: www.psi-media.co.uk EDITOR Michael Lyons ASSISTANT EDITOR Rachel Brooks PRODUCTION EDITOR Richard Gooding PRODUCTION DESIGN Jo Golding PRODUCTION CONTROL Ella Sawtell WEBSITE PRODUCTION Victoria Casey ADVERTISEMENT SALES Jeremy Cox, Jake Deadman, Spencer Freedman, Yanina Stachura, Terry Edwards ADMINISTRATION Vickie Hopkins, Charlotte Casey PUBLISHER Karen Hopps REPRODUCTION & PRINT Argent Media

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CONTENTS

07 NEWS

NHS Supply Chain highlights the importance of ethical procurement; and Birmingham Children’s Hospital rated ‘Outstanding’

13 HEALTHCARE IT

Andy Kinnear, chair of BCS Health & Care Executive, shares his optimism about the growing potential and use of digital technology in the NHS. Plus, Health Business reports on the use of DeepMind app technology in two London NHS trusts to increase and maximise staff workflow

13

18 MEDICAL DEVICES

Near events, while not causing harm to the patient, remain a concern for the NHS, and in particular those working in surgery.

Mona Guckian Fisher examines the possibility of accidents during operations

21 GS1 STANDARDS 18 21

43

With many sites and large numbers of staff, patients and visitors, it is imperitive that hospitals have an effective and understandable fire safety plan. The Fire Industry Association explain why

43 MODULAR BUILDINGS

The NHS SBS Modular Buildings Framework is the only national agreement of its type, covering offsite building solutions for purchase, hire and lease.

NHS Shared Business Services outline its benefits for the healthcare sector Sponsored by

47 HOSPITAL INNOVATIONS

Taking place at London’s Olympia on the 25-26 April, the conference and exhibition at Hospital Innovations will address the key issues currently facing the NHS

50 HB AWARDS

24 E-ROSTERING

53 DIABETES UK

26 EHI LIVE

56 AGEING

Forming the backdrop to November’s ehi Live, Informa provide a Q&A on the topic of sustainability and transformation plans – including what they mean for NHS IT

27 FINANCE

Paul Briddock, of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, discusses the financial implications of hospital trusts’ sustainability and transformation plans

29 PATIENT SAFETY TECH 56

39 FIRE SAFETY

One year on from its introduction, Glen Hodgson of GS1 UK reports on the progress and success of the Scan4Safety project, which is setting standards for improved care in the NHS With increasing numbers of patients to see, medical staff need to be efficient in where they are and who they are with.

Skills for Health look at the benefits of an established e-rostering system for staff

Health Business provides an update on the Sign up to Safety initiative and how embedding an effective safety culture in NHS staff and technology can benefit patients and staff alike

33 FACILITIES MANAGEMENT Hospitals face myriad challenges from disease, energy consumption and patient comfort concerns. HB looks at the benefits of an efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning system in tackling challenges

Health Business

Contents

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Sponsored by

The Health Business Awards emphasise the hard work and excellence that makes the NHS the best health service in the world. Here, we look at 2016’s winners

Health Business previews the first day of conference sessions at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference, taking place on 8-10 March, with topics covering diabetes management and the use of technology The Design Council explain how an innovative new partnership, called Transform Ageing, could relieve pressure on stretched NHS services and improve the experience of later life for everyone

59 CATERING

Data released in January showed that a large number of hospitals are failing to implement Jeremy Hunt’s 2014 mandatory food standards. But are they mandatory, and are the hospitals to blame?

61 PARKING

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust were one of the first recipients of the PiPA for high standard parking in a hospital setting. The BPA share their experiences

67 CONFERENCES & EVENTS Using guidance from the MIA, Health Business looks at the benefits of an accredited venue for healthcare meetings

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PROCUREMENT

News

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NHS Supply Chain highlights the importance of ethical procurement The launch of NHS Supply Chain’s new surgical instruments framework has outlined the body’s strong commitment to ethical procurement.

The news comes as figures show an estimated 80-90 per cent of surgical instruments are manufactured in Pakistan.

NHS Supply Chain has confirmed it will continue to support suppliers to meet Labour Standards Assurance System (LSAS) contract conditions as a central part of its Ethical Procurement Strategy.

The NHS Supply Chain introduced the LSAS in collaboration with the Department of Health, to enhance the identification of issues, remediation and continuous improvement of labour standards management. This formed part of a pioneering approach to include ethical procurement considerations into the tender for surgical instruments and has provided a blueprint for other product areas.

According to a press release from the body, the new surgical instruments framework sees NHS Supply Chain ‘go even further in its labour standards assurance and highlights its commitment to quality suppliers’.

All 29 awarded suppliers are required to have level 2 LSAS to trade on the framework,

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and will be supported to help them achieve the milestone to level 3. In addition to this commitment, the new invitation to tender required ISO13485, BS standards and involved product testing by an external organisation, the Surgical Materials Testing Laboratory (SMTL).

Stephanie Gibney, ethical and sustainability manager at NHS Supply Chain, said: “We are committed to transparency and embedding

ethical procurement, and have been working closely with our suppliers through the Labour Standards Assurance System. Our new surgical instruments framework supports and extends our work in this area and helps suppliers to further develop policies and processes to meet requirements in line with International Labour Organisation conventions and the UK Modern Slavery Act.”

RECRUITMENT

NHS ‘may struggle’ without having more non-UK staff A number of medical organisations have warned that the crisis in health service recruitment is threatened by Brexit and faces the risk of getting worse without overseas staff.

After the Royal College of Emergency Medicine warned that the falling value of the pound made the UK less attractive, the Welsh NHS Confederation has emphasised how ‘significant’ overseas recruitment was and warned against it being restricted.

There is an existing struggle to meet growing demand for health care in Wales, meaning that the health and social care systems will ‘struggle to function’ without more non-UK staff being hired.

The Welsh NHS Confederation, which represents the health boards and

trusts, stressed that the NHS across the UK was ‘heavily reliant’ on EU and other overseas workers, with 30 per cent of NHS doctors in Wales coming from abroad, and 35 per cent of doctors having qualified outside of the UK. The group highlights the potential for certain services to become ‘unsustainable’ post-Brexit, with recruitment difficulties becoming ‘compounded’.

The Royal College of Emergency Medicine in Wales estimate that growing demand will mean that Wales will need at least 100 emergency medicine consultants within the next six years.

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MORTALITY

The rise in mortality is likely caused because of NHS cuts Research has suggested that cuts to the NHS and social care are the likely causes of an unprecedented rise in mortality in England and Wales.

The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Oxford University and Blackburn with Darwen Council collectively argue that the increase in mortality rates took place against a backdrop of ‘severe cuts’, compromising the performance of health care staff.

The rise in deaths, reportedly rising 30,000 from 2014 to 529,655 in 2015, was the

highest mortality rate since 2008 and the largest in percentage terms in almost 50 years.

Published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, the research paper also outlined why the relatively low effectiveness of the flu vaccine and cold weather were not causes – saying that the ‘evidence points to a major failure of the health system, possibly exacerbated by failings in social care’.

They also noted that the increase in mortality came as ambulance reposes times

and waiting times rose in A&E departments. £16.7 billion of cuts to the welfare budget and a 17 per cent decrease in spending for older people since 2009 have been ‘exacerbated’ factors, with the authors hoping that research ‘raises a red flag’.

The professors also warned that the ‘spike’ risked becoming a ‘pattern’ with deaths from October 2016 onwards increasing by seven per cent compared with the five-year average.

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News

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CANCER

INSPECTIONS

Cancer survival in Scotland a postcode lottery

Birmingham Children’s Hospital rated Outstanding Birmingham Children’s Hospital has become the first specialist hospital of its kind to be rated ‘Outstanding’ by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England.

The news comes after the hospital was previously criticised in 2009 for having insufficient numbers of beds, operating theatres and trained staff.

After a visit in May 2016, CQC inspectors looked at core services including: A&E; medical care; surgery; paediatric critical care; neonatal care; transition services; end of life care; outpatients; and child and adolescent mental health services.

Paying tribute to the hospital’s 3,700 staff, Sarah-Jane Marsh, chief executive of Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said: “For the last five years we have been all about building

and developing one giant healthcare team with 3,700 members – Team BCH – and it is wonderful to see this shining through in the report, from how well we work across different specialties and disciplines, to the way we support innovation, ensuring we are always at the forefront of what is possible – with children and young people in our hearts.

“And it’s children, young people and families who inspire us every day – so to hear that they think we really go the extra mile for them, keeping them informed and supported in their care, while treating them with dignity and respect, means the world to us.”

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WALKING

Cancer patient life quality boosted by walking A new study has suggested that walking has a range of benefits for cancer patients, including boosting physical and emotional well-being.

Published in the BMJ Open journal, the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at King’s College London looked at the difference taking regular walks made to patients with various types of cancers in advanced stages, noting that levels of physical activity tended to drop significantly among people undergoing cancer treatment.

Under the care of two different London trusts, more than 40 people took part in the 12-week CanWalk trial and were advised by Macmillan to attend a weekly walking group led by volunteers.

Participants stated that walking improved their overall quality of life and assisted in them maintaining a positive attitude towards their illness. Additionally,

participants felt encouraged to walk more after achieving weight loss and feeling fitter.

Dr Jo Armes, lead researcher from the Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing & Midwifery, said: “This study is a first step towards exploring how walking can help people living with advanced cancer.

Walking is a free and accessible form of physical activity, and patients reported that it made a real difference to their quality of life. Further research is needed with a larger number of people to provide definitive evidence that walking improves both health outcomes and social and emotional well-being in this group of people.”

The programme was funded by Dimbleby Cancer Care, a charity providing practical and psychological support to people living with cancer and to their families and carers.

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Macmillan Cancer Support has highlighted data which shows a growing cancer survival gap between people living in the most and least deprived parts of Scotland. The analysis involved examining survival rates for six common cancers depending on where patients lived via the Information Services Division and found a wide variation between those living in poor and affluent areas.

The analysis examined the survival rate of patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2008 and followed them for five years up to 2013. The results showed that, for patients living in deprived areas ,there was an increased risk of death of: 98 per cent for prostate cancer; 89 per cent for breast cancer; 61 per cent for head and neck cancer; 45 per cent for colorectal patients; and 28 per cent liver cancer.

The charity also found that lung cancer patients faced poor outcomes regardless of their socioeconomic status. The findings were partially due to lower rates of screening uptake and lower rates of treatment in deprived communities, with surgery identified as having had the most influence on survival. This suggested those from deprived communities were less likely to receive surgery, possibly because of having more advanced cancer or poorer overall health.

Janice Preston, head of Macmillan in Scotland, said: “It’s completely unacceptable that someone’s chances of surviving cancer could be predicted by their postcode. This new research gives us an up-to-date and in-depth understanding of the scale of the cancer survival gap in Scotland.

“It also provides the most comprehensive ever look at the reasons behind it. While the sheer number of factors that impact on survival means there is no magic bullet to solving this problem, this research points to clear areas for improvements, including encouraging earlier diagnosis and the take-up of screening in deprived areas.”

A spokesman for the Scottish government countered that cancer mortality rates had fallen by 11 per cent over the past 10 years.

However, the government maintained it recognised the need to tackle variations between least and most deprived communities.

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Patient Centred Care Platform

News

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APPENDICITIS

Antibiotics alone could treat appendicitis New research has suggested that antibiotics could be used as an effective, less invasive alternative to surgery for treating children with appendicitis.

The research, published in the Pediatrics journal, argues that using antibiotics might offer a less invasive alternative to appendix removal surgery, which is the most common emergency surgery for young people in the UK. Appendicitis affects an estimated one in 13 people at some point in their life, and while surgery remains the ‘gold standard’ treatment, the authors of the study argue that a ‘non-operative treatment for these children’ should be further explored.

The study involved 766 children from countries around the world, not including the UK, of whom 413 were treated for uncomplicated, acute appendicitis with antibiotics alone rather than surgery. The professors found that the use of antibiotics alone was effective for 97 per cent of children undergoing non-surgical treatment, with no adverse effects reported.

However, appendicitis recurred in 14 per cent of the children who did not have surgery – with the researchers arguing that ‘a

recurrence of appendicitis’ will leave patients being ‘recommended to have an operation to remove the appendix in the long run’.

The review only covered simple, acute appendicitis and did not examine children with complicated appendicitis, such as a perforated appendix or an appendix mass.

Nigel Hall, associate professor of paediatric surgery at the University of Southampton and co-author of the study, said: “It has

become clear in recent years that in adults there are some patients with appendicitis who can recover from the disease without an operation, and we are frequently asked by parents of children with an appendicitis whether their child really needs an operation to get better.”

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INNOVATIVE TRIALS

Blood on Board trial saves more lives More lives have been saved during a trial in which blood plasma was carried on-board the Great North Air Ambulances (GNAA).

The ‘Blood on Board’ trial involved enabling aircraft to carry defrosted fresh frozen plasma, ready for quick blood transfusions.

During the five month trial, in which 376 cool boxes were prepared and delivered, 36 patients received ‘blood on board’, while three patients who survived were ‘unexpected survivors. Additionally, 50 per cent of patients were involved in a road traffic accident; 15 per cent had a serious fall and 12.5 per cent were victims of stabbings.

The ‘Blood on Board’ technique will now be adopted on both of the Henry Surtees Foundation’s active aircraft, and will continue to be monitored to ensure it is working effectively.

Dr Rachel Hawes, GNAAS aircrew doctor, said: “Using fresh frozen plasma alongside red blood cell transfusions, when stabilising patients with life threatening injuries, has had such a positive impact. Across the first five months of the new trial we have seen three unexpected survivors which is fantastic news.

“We treated 36 patients using the blood on board technique during these five months, compared to 37 throughout the whole of our first year practising ‘Blood on Board’. This shows how much this new approach has become routine practice when needed, and means that major trauma patients are alive today because of the rapid transfusions they received at the scene of their accident.”

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EDUCATION FUNDING

£95m investment for healthcare education Welsh Health Secretary Vaughan Gething has announced the government is investing £95 million of funding to support nurses, physiotherapists, radiographers and a range of health science training opportunities.

The funding is aimed at enabling more than 3,000 new students to join those already studying healthcare education programmes across Wales.

It will also provide an additional £500,000 to support community healthcare such as advanced practice, education and extended skills training to support primary care

clusters. The funding package will increase practice nurse and district nurse education as well as audiology training places within primary and community settings.

This will provide vital funding for community services and will ensure many more patients can be cared for closer to home, rather than in hospital.

Commenting on the investment, Gething said: “We rely on the skills, knowledge and experience of those providing the care in the NHS on a daily basis. This includes nurses and paramedics as well as those behind the

scenes, who provide vital support services such as laboratory tests to enable diagnoses to be made and treatment to be provided.

“Education and training is fundamental to ensuring the sustainability of our workforce. This £95 million investment will ensure that our healthcare professionals are able to provide high quality care now and in the future and that patients’ will be able to receive care closer to home.”

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Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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DIGITAL NHS

Written by Andy Kinnear, chair, BCS Health & Care Executive

The growth of digital technology in the NHS

Healthcare IT

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The ability to digitise the health sector has changed dramatically. Andy Kinnear, chair of the BCS Health & Care Executive, explains why he is optimistic about the growing opportunities and unlimited potential in digitising the NHS I know I sometimes get accused of being overly optimistic, but I genuinely believe this is the most exciting time ever to be working in the digital health and care space.

This is my 27th year of NHS service, man and boy, and I honestly cannot remember a time where the ambition, the opportunity, the national and local organisational alignment and the wholehearted belief in our ability to deliver was quite so tangible.

So what is going on? Well forgive me a brief historical review. When I came in, 1991, technology, and especially the clinical software, was an in-house business. Whether it was entrepreneurial clinicians writing their own software or large regional ‘Computer Centres’ the digital health process was full-on DIY. Market forces and government commitment to private sector saw that change through the 1990s but progress remained frustratingly slow culminating in the most famous six minutes in history and the formation of the NHS National Programme for IT (NPfIT).

Let’s not unfurl that particular flag but suffice to say some good stuff happened, some bad stuff happened, but overall we failed to truly digitise the health and care system. And so we reached this decade

and this time it is different, it really is.

Firstly, technology has changed and public expectation has changed with it.

Digitising the health service is no longer simply about improving the efficiency of its day-to-day mechanics or about ensuring information flows to support planning and financial management.

The public we serve expect to interact digitally for the services they receive, why shouldn’t they, they do it in all other aspects of their lives. We have passed the point where by providing services ‘online’ is considered a value‑add, it is simply the norm. This public expectation has to be welcomed as it brings huge opportunity with it.

We are already seeing interesting examples of digitally driven changes to interfaces with patients that are radically changing the way the NHS provide services. The ‘my medical record’ work of the team at University Hospital Southampton is one stunning example of how by shifting to a ‘personal health record’ approach it is driving a different set of behaviour from clinician and patients alike. This system, co-designed with patients, is thoroughly empowering. The NHS is only really at the start of the PHR journey but it is coming and is truly a game changer.

Mod clinical ern are pro leaders digital ducts of a and rea generation di the opply embrace technol ortunity ogy healthc offers are

A DIGITAL GENERATION Secondly, the clinical community has changed.

The IT system is no longer the preserve of Dr Geeky, enthusiastically challenging colleagues to embrace its functions and being casually dismissed. The clinical leaders emerging in the digital world today are products of a digital generation and readily embrace the opportunity technology offers healthcare. The publication of The Wachter Review last year told many of us what we already knew, that delivering the technology was only a fraction of the journey and irrelevant if the adaptive changes within the clinical professions did not follow.

The new breeds of Clinical CIOs not only grasp the opportunity before them, but also readily take on the challenge of helping their clinical colleagues embrace the change to their working patterns and behaviours.

Wachter said this takes time, but it is now fully underway and will only continue to gather momentum in the years ahead.

The clinical leadership is part of a wider leadership model. At national level we have seen visionary leaders in NHS England, NHS Digital & other ALBs publicly champion the role digital can play in the future of health and care and that penny has dropped at the very top too. For the very first time in my career I sat in a room in Manchester last autumn to watch a health minister talk passionately about creating Global Digital Exemplars in England, about creating a group of organisations that could be compared with the very best in the world. E

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Care You Can See â„¢

DIGITAL NHS  EMULATING GLOBAL EXCELLENCE I recently visited the first hospital outside the USA to achieve HIMSS level 7, the Seoul National University Hospital in South Korea. They had done this by building their clinical system themselves, developers working hand in glove with clinicians and managers to create a world class product.

We have every opportunity to emulate this kind of achievement again and again across the UK by working with our suppliers.

Moreover, we have an opportunity to do this at a scale that stretches beyond the boundaries of individual hospitals.

The biggest prize is not to simply achieve exemplar status at hospital level but to

The biggest challenge we face is also the biggest opportunity we have – how do we get the plethora of clinicians, teams, departments and organisations providing care to one population to work together seamlessly and effectively

Healthcare IT

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

achieve it at city, then region, then national levels. The biggest challenge we face is also the biggest opportunity we have, namely how do we get the plethora of clinicians, teams, departments and organisations providing care to one population to work together seamlessly and effectively.

The creation of the Sustainability and Transformation Plans (STPs) programme affords us the opportunity to bring forward these plans at pace, and critically to underpin these plans with a digital platform. We have an opportunity to create a digital driven health and care system at city or region level for the first time in decades, let’s not miss that.

EAGERNESS TO TAKE OPPORTUNITIES The last reason I think it is different this time is because there is a willingness, an eagerness one might say, to invest in the professionalism needed to realise this opportunity. Many of us have seen digital success up and down the country, but too often the success has been linked to one or two key people driving it forward, almost in spite of the system.

Going forward we cannot trust to hope or luck, or rely on individuals to develop themselves and drive selflessly for success.

This is now changing. We are already seeing investment in the development of a Digital Academy to support the development of the CIO and CCIO professions.

The commitment to the ‘building a digital ready workforce’ programme is another tangible example of investing in professionalising our workforce for a digital world.

The professional bodies are playing their part and my own attraction in taking on my role with BCS was driven by a desire to see us drive up the standard of digital leadership across the health and care sector.

Before the end of my career I would like to see mandatory professional registration for NHS CIOs, adherence to professional standards, recruitment guidelines that require NHS Boards to appoint appropriately qualified people. Many of my colleagues have argued that digital will not be taken seriously in health until CIOs are on the Board of NHS organisations.

My view is that CIOs will not be taken seriously until they develop themselves into a profession worthy of demanding a seat at the Board.

Am I right to be optimistic? Who knows, I guess time will tell. But this is not blind optimism or some kind of unwavering faith. My belief is based on years and years of experience, on what I see around me and what I hear people say. This time it’s different, this time it’s better. L

BCS Health & Care Executive is part of BCS, The Chartered Institute for IT. FURTHER INFORMATION www.bcs.org/category/6044

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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We’re one N saving HS Tr ust

£170k per ye ar!

CFH Docmail cares about our NHS Going beyond the envelope to save you money...

Shirley Priestnall is Head of Information within the Operational Delivery Unit at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust. One of the busiest Trusts in the country with over one million outpatient attendances a year resulting in 80,000 appointment confirmations a month.

Despite budgets being cut to the bone, by taking the step to outsource and use hybrid mail, Shirley was able to not only transform the efficiency and professionalism of the process but also save the Leicester NHS Trust £170k a year.

“We have the facility to tweak any template immediately. A change in personnel or the footer happens at the touch of a button. The on demand process removes the requirement to hold stock.

Shirley says, “Our admin system meant that letter would be printed at one of a number of printers and we risked picking up the wrong letter or a failure to print. The print was poor, the letter templates were very rigid, single sided and we couldn’t always say exactly what we wanted. The clinic location was so abbreviated that patients often got lost. It became the biggest source of complaints. With 1,000,000 patients attending every year the knock on effect was huge.

“Data is received 7 days per week. CFH process these files twice per day. Each letter is streamed to its despatch method based on the rule within the appointment date. If the appointment is within 8 working days, the letter is sent 1st class, same day. Monthly volumes are 65,000 letters.

“Window envelopes compromising patient confidentiality or the address could not be viewed properly. Staff were adding hand written details or corrections none of which looks professional and inspires patient confidence. Anecdotal evidence suggested that letters had not been received.”

“The move to CFH Docmail has been transforming.

“Outpatient appointment letters are requested on-demand as appointments are agreed during the working day. They are generated from the Trust’s Patient Administration System. Data is collected by the CFH Print Spooler which is located on the Leicester NHS server.

“Letter templates have been re-developed using a limited number of letter types, with customisation rules to govern the detail of the content. The rules accommodate large print letters where patients have requested these and identify letters requiring Braille translation.

“We print dynamically on pre-printed base stock.

Pre-printed map stock for the 3 hospitals means that each patient has a colour map with full directions. Leicester NHS has a bespoke envelope (one DSA and one 1st class).

“The £170k a year we have saved has been on hard costs like paper, ink and post, the real saving when you take into consideration staff time and the reduction in inefficiencies is much greater.

“The quality improvement both in terms of presentation and patient support has been considerable.

“We also have the benefit of an excellent support team at CFH who anticipate and remind us of any decisions that need to be made.”

If you would like more information about what we do...

Call:

01761 416311

Email:

Jason.Lusty@cfh.com

Visit:

www.docmail.co.uk/healthcare

MOBILE APPS

Healthcare IT

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Developing lifesaving technology partnerships At the end of 2016, Google-owned company DeepMind began collaborating with the two NHS trusts to build lifesaving mobile technology. Health Business looks at the growth of app technology Pagers, fax machines and paper records are still standard in most NHS hospitals, and too often top-down IT systems don’t meet clinical needs because they are built far away from the frontline of patient care. Consequently, changes in a patient’s condition often don’t get brought to the attention of the right clinician in time to prevent further serious illness.

In light of this, The Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has signed a five-year agreement with British technology company DeepMind to work collaboratively to transform care through a mobile clinical application called Streams. In close collaboration with clinicians themselves, the Google-owned company’s technology aims to ensure that the right patient information gets to the right clinicians at the right time, reducing preventable deaths and illnesses.

The technology notifies nurses and doctors immediately when test results show a patient is at risk of becoming seriously ill, providing all the information they need to take action. This will help in reducing the 10,000 people a year who die in UK hospitals through entirely preventable causes.

It is hoped that the technology will also free up clinicians’ time from juggling multiple

pager, desktop-based and paper systems, redirecting over half a million hours per year towards direct patient care at the Royal Free London. This is the equivalent of having over 150 more nurses focusing on patient care. The Royal College of Physicians has reported that two in five doctors in training consider the administrative burden of their jobs to have a serious negative impact on patient safety in their hospital.

The partnership will also introduce an unprecedented level of data security and audit. All data access is logged, and subject to review by the Royal Free London as well as DeepMind Health’s nine Independent Reviewers.

David Sloman, chief executive of the Royal Free London, said: “We are hugely excited by the opportunity this partnership presents to patients and staff. We want to lead the way in healthcare technology and this new clinical app will enable us to provide safer and faster care to patients – which will save lives.

Doctors and nurses currently spend far too much time on paperwork, and we

believe this technology could substantially reduce this burden, enabling doctors and nurses to spend more time on what they do best – treating patients.”

IMPERIAL COLLEGE In December 2016, DeepMind announced a similar partnership with Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, to collaboratively work to use mobile clinical applications to improve care. Mobile technology is the natural next stage of the trust’s work, having moved from paper to electronic patient records.

Sanjay Gautama, chief clinical information officer at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, said: “Apps bring immense opportunities for faster and more efficient care, by making access to vital information quicker and easier for clinicians. But for apps to be useful and safe they cannot operate in isolation – they need to be securely linked to the core electronic patient record system.

“By working with DeepMind we are embracing the opportunities that technology brings to improve patient care, using their expertise to help us deploy a system that allows us to maximise future innovations in mobile technology for healthcare for the benefit of our patients.”

Professor Keith McNeil, NHS chief clinical information officer, added:”The health and care system stands poised to harness the power of information and technology to substantially improve the care we provide to patients and to promote world class health outcomes.

We cannot do this alone and we need to work with world leading partners, and I am delighted that the Royal Free are going to be able to use the brilliant technology and innovation offered by a partner of the stature of DeepMind to help deliver better, safer care to their patients. I commend them for their initiative and wish them every success with the venture.” L

The technol ogy immedi a t e l y staff wh notifies show a en test results p risk of batient is at eco serious ly ill, pr ming ovid all the n ecessar ing y informa tion

FURTHER INFORMATION tinyurl.com/hyb6bsd

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Medical Devices Written by Mona Guckian Fisher, Association for Perioperative Practice (Afpp)

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SURGERY

Operation – how safe are you?

The rates of error present a significant challenge to those working in the NHS. Mona Guckian Fisher, immediate past president of the AfPP, looks at near miss events within surgery Surgery is intended to save lives, enhance functionality and provide a number of other positive outcomes. It is never intended to cause harm; yet unsafe surgical care can cause substantial harm and even death. Patients undergoing surgical procedures are inevitably at their most vulnerable and have an expectation and a right to expect a safe and quality experience.

Yet, accidents happen and unintended consequences are the result for both patients and healthcare professionals. A great deal of time and resource has been committed to exploring patient safety incidents for the purpose of gaining a better understanding of the human factors and causative features of such incidents.

The NHS deals with over one million patients every 36 hours. In 2015/16 there were 40 per cent more operations (‘procedures and interventions’ as defined by Hospital Episode Statistics, excluding diagnostic testing) completed by the NHS compared to 2005/06, with an increase from 7.215 million to 10.119 million. There were 16.252 million total hospital admissions in 2015/16, 28 per cent more than a decade earlier (12.679 million).

There is often a gap in understanding amongst healthcare professionals on what constitutes a patient safety incident. A patient safety incident is defined as ‘any unintended or unexpected incident which could have or did lead to harm for one or more patients receiving NHS care’. The top four most commonly reported types of incident continue to be: patient accidents (19.2 per cent), implementation of care and ongoing monitoring/review incidents (13.2 per cent), treatment/procedure incidents (10.6 per cent), and medication incidents (10.2 per cent).

ng Reportimiss on near nown to is k events frequent for be less ious reason the obvhing adverse t that no een as an s is e outcom

NEAR MISS EVENTS The importance of robust investigation and analysis to determine contributory factors and provide explanations is vital to prevent re-occurrence and learn important lessons.

It has to be acknowledged that a great deal

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of time and resources is generally committed to this process in the healthcare sector, but all too often this lacks the required rigour to uncover the vital truths; thus missing opportunities for life saving change.

HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

It is a recognised fact in the field of risk and safety that the big catastrophic incidents are often the result of numerous small unnoticed and unaddressed issues, often referred to as ‘near miss’ events. A near miss is an unplanned event that did not result in injury, illness, or damage – but had the potential to do so. Only a fortunate break in the chain of events prevented an injury, fatality or damage; in other words, a miss that was nonetheless very near.

Reporting on near miss events is known to be less frequent than for actual incidents for the obvious reason that nothing adverse is seen as an outcome. However, near miss events that are captured in the reporting system should be explored and analysed with much greater attention, and this data exploited to provide the foundations for the prevention of adverse outcomes for patients and staff. The aviation industry captures this information and is renowned for investigating near miss reported incidents with the same strict discipline as actual incidents. This industry understands fully the value of this endeavour in the interests of safety. Whist accepting that there are

enormous differences between healthcare and aviation this is one point where opportunities are present to see and pursue the similarities.

When incidents occur in healthcare there is often a delay in starting the investigation and creating the time line that is necessary as part of the forensic examination close to the time of the incident; and where recall and evidence are optimal. Any delay in this is a missed opportunity to undertake the factors that need consideration together with the activities of the people involved. Nowhere is this more clearly seen as with the exploration of ‘never events’. Never events are serious incidents that are wholly preventable as guidance or safety recommendations that provide strong systemic protective barriers are available at a national level and should have been implemented by all healthcare providers.

Professor Sir Ara Darzi, writing in The Times (February 23, 2016), suggests that surgeons should ‘blush at the incidence of never events in the NHS over the past four years’. He states that ‘these appalling errors bring shame on surgeons’.

As healthcare professionals we have to

The NHS in England is one of the only healthcare systems in the world that is open and transparent about patient safety incident reporting, particularly around never events be mindful that it is not only the surgeons that are responsible for patient safety in the surgical environment and to this end, perioperative nurses and operating department practitioners (ODPs) have a clear legal, ethical and professional responsibility to apply and adhere to the existing standards of care and available guidance.

PATIENT SAFETY A PUBLIC PRIORITY The statistics available on never events provided on 11 January 2017 for the period between 1 April and 31 December 2016 indicate a total of 314 incidents that appear to meet the definition of a never event as outlined in the Never Events list 2015/16. During this period there were 133 wrong site surgeries, 75 retained

Medical Devices

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foreign objects post procedure and 38 wrong implant/prosthesis insertions.

The NHS in England is one of the only healthcare systems in the world that is open and transparent about patient safety incident reporting, particularly around never events. Patient safety is the foundation of good patient care and is defined as: ‘the avoidance, prevention and amelioration of adverse outcomes or injuries stemming from the process of healthcare’. The reference to amelioration of adverse outcomes or injuries broadens the definition beyond traditional safety concerns for many industries up to a category for ‘disaster management’.

However in healthcare amelioration firstly refers to the need for rapid medical intervention to deal with the immediate crisis, and also to the need to care for injured patients and to support the staff involved.

Over many decades high profile events, government responses, investigations, enquiries and numerous professional reports have brought patient safety into the forefront of the public domain. We have learned that blame and discipline are an ineffective response to most safety problems.

A more appropriate solution is provided by Sidney Dekker who proposes that we need the kind of accountability that encourages learning. He talks about individuals telling their stories, giving their accounts from their perspective of direct or close involvement.

This lived experience represents ‘a rich trove of data for how safety is made and broken at the very heart of the organisation’.

The rates of error and harm continue to present a significant challenge for those of us who work in the healthcare industry and in particular those within the area of surgery. Undeniably, when looking at the latest data on never events there is a huge chunk of responsibility and accountability for all involved in the operating theatre service.

The operating theatre is a complex environment fraught with risk which is managed continuously on a daily basis. There is no denying that managing surgical and anaesthetic services requires skill expertise and a thorough awareness and knowledge of risk, risk mitigation and management. It is imperative that we have the right people with the right skills in place to manage this area of healthcare. Each organisation and operating theatre will have to answer this question individually. Sadly, it is certain that not all will be able to do so in the affirmative. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.afpp.org.uk

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Advertisement Feature

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BARCODING

COULD THE SIMPLE BARCODE SAVE THE NHS? Complacent or just plain old-fashioned? Whatever the case, the NHS must embrace technology faster for the sake of the patient, as well as the purse NHS sustainability and transformation plans (STP), covering the period October 2016 to March 2021 have been published.

Referring to the NHS chief executive’s ‘Triple-Aim’ of: improved health and wellbeing; transformed quality of care delivery; and sustainable finances.

MEETING THE FIVE YEAR PLAN During the Christmas 2016 period, Secretary of State for Health Jeremy Hunt spoke about the use of barcode technology. He stated such damning statistics as: ‘Twice a week we operate on the wrong part of a patient’s body’; ‘Once a week the wrong prosthesis is put on a patient’s body’; ‘We often cause death by administering the wrong drugs’ and ‘Twice a week we leave a foreign object in a patient’s body’.

The positive side of the Jeremy Hunt message, and the optimistic aims of the various STPs is that all of this is avoidable.

Often as simple as the introduction of barcode scanning which (according to the Department of Health press statement the same day) is commonplace in major industries such as aerospace and retail.

TV interviewers seemed astounded that such simple, everyday technology is not already in use. Especially when the financial business case has been made that the costs of implementation will be far, far outweighed by the monetary savings.

Add to that, the improvements in patient safety, and all three ‘triple‑aims’ have their boxes ticked.

The NHS has been ridiculously slow to adopt common technologies such as the humble barcode. Yet elsewhere in service sectors, IT is totally intrinsic in what organisations do and how they behave.

Before the industrial revolution, we used picks and shovels. Now we use tractors.

We seem astounded that our finest institution, one that makes us the envy of the world, the National Health Service, is facing issues – higher demand; cost controls and efficiency conundrums. But they are. And we need to ensure they get on with modernising, to cope better.

EMBRACING EFFICIENT SYSTEMS The answer is to embrace more efficient systems. Just as every UK business and global corporation has already done.

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HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

Become ‘lean’. Every process they have must come under the microscope. And potential savings calculated. Then ranked in order of the best return on investment first, with a keen eye on what improves safety too.

BBC headlines on the 29 December 2016 focussed on the PIP implant scandal of a few years ago. Illustrating the urgency for the NHS implementing good track and trace (barcode scanning) systems citing: ‘Some 400,000 women were affected in 65 countries’; ’It is thought that about 47,000 British women had the implants’; ‘Many were fitted by the NHS’; ‘There were 4,000 reported ruptures’; ‘Many women are unable to find out if they had been given the faulty implants’.

There has been a lot of activity to create clear and compelling arguments for trusts to take action. Excellent documents such as the Carter report and the Wachter Review.

BARCODING BENEFITS There’s now a GS1 barcoding compliance requirement for all hospitals. And six well‑funded demonstrator hospitals charting the areas for instant success and quick wins.

The financial business case is proven.

The benefits of barcoding include facilitating non-clinical staff to move to a proactive, systems-driven paperless pathway and facilitating clinical staff to reduce administration paperwork, increasing bedside time.

It also includes ensuring that records are accurate, electronic and easy to interrogate, so that there can NEVER be another PIP implant scandal, with patients at-risk because of poor record-keeping procedures.

Implementing the technology is easy. A simple scan of the patient’s wristband and scan of

the material pack is all that is required to: a) record what was consumed during an operation; b) record the whereabouts of what may need to be recalled; c) create an automated replenishment order based on actual usage; and d) deliver an accurate patient and procedure-level cost analysis.

Assistive Partner is working with a number of trusts throughout England, helping to deliver a digital future and ensure a future‑proof operating system across the trust. The company has helped trusts develop a ‘spend-to-save’ business case and is mostly based upon the use of smartphone apps for mobile working and barcode scanning. Use of their software has demonstrably positive stories for pathology samples, continence deliveries, internal parcel distribution and hospital asset management.

Assistive Partner’s hospital inventory management software is simple to use and swift to implement. The business case for its deployment is easy to create and will show how an investment of less than £60,000 per annum is very likely to deliver savings of well over £400,000 per annum when just deployed in a hospital’s operating theatre environment.

The NHS (which arguably has more personnel educated to degree level than most organisations) knows there are savings to be made from investment in systems – spend to save. Frankly, if fairly everyday organisations such as supermarkets, clothing firms and DIY chains can do it – so can the NHS. L FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +44 (0)844 335 6791 www.assistivepartner.co.uk

BARCODING

Glen Hodgson discusses the progress of the Scan4Safety project one year on and the benefits of being able to quickly and easily track each patient through their hospital journey The importance of GS1 standards was recently underscored by Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State, who said: “Scan4Safety is a world first in healthcare – and a vital part of this government’s drive to make the NHS the safest and most transparent healthcare system in the world.”

This commitment was backed by the first ever Scan4Safety leadership conference, held at the end of January, where hundreds of leaders from trusts and suppliers attended over two days to hear about the latest progress of the project.

As well as an update from the six demonstrator sites of excellence, selected by the Department of Health to demonstrate the benefits of GS1 and PEPPOL standards, senior trust leaders also attended to hear from leading figures in the health sector, including Lord Carter of Coles, Bob Alexander, deputy CEO of NHS Improvement, and Professor Terence Stephenson, chairman of the General Medical Council.

So what is it that attracts such senior people to barcoding standards? Lord Hunt of Kings Heath summarised well the attraction of barcoding standards for such senior people by highlighting how ‘it brings an improvement to safety and to efficiency, without compromising either’.

Not many things are achieving this in the NHS today but the Scan4Safety project is. The difference is that one year into the project, this benefit is now already being proven. And that’s why the Department of Health announced that it wants four annual waves for the remaining 148 trusts – the savings can exceed £1 billion. The business case is done, it now just needs to happen.

Across the two days of the recent conference, all six demonstrator sites – Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust and Salisbury

NHS Foundation Trust – gave us an update on their progress so far. Their message was clear – collaboration is key. Within trusts, that means getting senior stakeholders involved to ensure their engagement in Scan4Safety.

Beyond that, it also means trusts and suppliers working together in the interest of the most important priority for all involved – patient safety. Many suppliers are already proven partners in this. Pfizer are taking global standards very seriously and have over £100 million worth of technology behind their global serialisation programme. They’re advocating for global standards as much as possible.

Time is of the essence here, the deadline is still 2019/20 for compliance with the eProcurement

ng Barcodi ‘bring ds standar ovement an imprty and to to safe y, without c efficien romising p com either’

strategy, and Lord Carter’s speech really drove this home when he said that ‘we need persistence and we need pace’. Emphasising the programme’s importance, Lord Carter said that it’s ‘the second most important change in the NHS at the moment, after staff productivity’.

GETTING IT RIGHT The six Scan4Safety demonstrator sites have been busy implementing GS1 standards throughout their hospitals over the past year.

Their aim is to use barcodes to identify every person, product and place – the key areas known as the three core enablers. This gives trusts the ability to know who did what to who, and where and when they did it.

Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust now allocate 100 per cent of their patients with a GS1 compliant wristband, so they can track a patient’s journey at their E

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

Written by Glen Hodgson, head of Healthcare, GS1 UK

Scan4Safety – one year of progress

GS1 Standards

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1WORLDSYNC IS THE INDUSTRY LEADER IN GLOBAL HEALTHCARE COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS FOR NHS - SCAN4SAFETY AND BEYOND! 1WorldSync enables healthcare manufacturers to exchange product content with the NHS Trusts, GPO‘s, distributors and regulatory bodies in the UK and across the world, using NHS requirements and GS1 standards.

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BARCODING  trust. It enables scanning of the patient at the point of care, but it also means that products used on a patient can be scanned at the same time. This gives trusts product information such as expiry data and batch/ lot number and links it to that patient.

In the case of a product recall, this could be life-changing.

But, and this is the important point that senior leaders at the Scan4Safety conference repeatedly made, it doesn’t just make patients safer – it saves time and money too.

Rob Drag, Scan4Safety programme manager at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust, said: “By scanning products at point-of–use, stock is now automatically replenished, releasing time for clinical staff to care. And by scanning all consumables, implants, and staff to a patient, detailed costs of a procedure are now available at the touch of a button. This helps provide clinical staff with more accurate and timely data, helping them to make better informed decisions.”

Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust is already making savings of £297,000 one year in.

Rob Drag continued: “These savings are just the tip of the iceberg. The real value comes from the provision of rich data, which when leveraged correctly will force a cultural change across the trust – moving the conversation away from product price, to one based around clinical productivity.”

And, Salisbury aren’t the only ones saving money – Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has already saved £812,000 through reducing stock. And a reduction of stock consumption in theatres at Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Trusts has resulted in annual savings of £1.2 million. If we’re talking about getting it right, this is helping trusts to do so.

CLINICAL EFFECTIVENESS The shift of focus that Salisbury is talking about – ‘moving the conversation away from product price, to one based around clinical productivity’ – is an important distinction for all six Scan4Safety trusts, and for GS1 UK. The clinical impact of the Scan4Safety project is increasingly emphasised, and for good reason. The quality of data that barcodes provide is changing clinical conversations because it’s arguably where the most impact can be had.

Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust is very clear on this: ‘the ability to access real-time information regarding clinical variation (what products used, how long a procedure has taken, the number of staff involved, LoS etc. per procedure/per clinician)’ is the most significant efficiency achieved for Kevin Downs, director of Finance and Performance at the trust. It means clinical variation can be addressed and understood, using information that’s detailed and undisputed.

This appeals to finance directors and clinicians, because they can both be more effective as a result of the details they’re given.

Collaboration within the trusts themselves

GS1 Standards

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

In one year, the Scan4Safety project has moved from being seen as a procurement project to one that is integral to every stage of the patient pathway in the NHS. While each trust is at a different stage in its GS1 implementation journey, all six are sure of the impact it’s going to have on their future has helped for a wider, more sustainable roll-out, especially when clinical engagement is there. North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust, for example, has 250 clinical champions of the project. And, it’s one of the leading pieces of advice the six trusts have for others looking to replicate their success.

David Berridge, deputy chief medical officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, summarises the need for whole hospital engagement well: “If there was one thing I could say to help other trusts embarking on this journey, it would be to treat the Scan4Safety initiative as part of the trust’s corporate strategy, as buy in at senior management level is key to ensuring timely participation in the implementation programme.

This is not a procurement or supplies programme, it’s much larger than that as implementation of Scan4Safety will touch,

if not affect, every part of hospital life.”

In one year, the Scan4Safety project has moved from being seen as a procurement project to one that is integral to every stage of the patient pathway. While each trust is at a different stage in its GS1 implementation journey, all six are sure of the impact it’s going to have on their future. It’s why the Department of Health is continuing to roll out the project and it’s why senior healthcare professionals are so passionate about its success. L

Glen Hodgson joined GS1 UK in 2014 as head of Healthcare. He is charged with supporting the NHS and the healthcare industry to deliver greater efficiency and a more robust approach to patient safety.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.gs1uk.org/healthcare

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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E-Rostering Written by Skills for Health

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WAITING TIMES

Improving staff efficiency and patient experiences With more patients to see than ever before, the ability to deploy staff as quickly and effectively as possible can transform patient waiting times. Here, Skills for Health look at effective e-rostering From the reality of the digital patient to Jeremy Hunt’s aim of a paperless NHS by next year, the entire health sector is being strongly encouraged to shift to more digital working practices to save money and improve services. This cross-sector change in approach and practice was given further momentum by the Carter Review when it was published last February.

The review detailed that all trusts should have key digital information systems fully integrated by October 2018. Another of its key recommendations was the implementation of e-rostering, widely considered a solid means of ensuring staff are deployed in the most productive way.

Effective e-rostering has a positive effect across organisations, helping to improve the experience for patients as well as staff.

PLANNING AHEAD BREEDS CONFIDENCE E-rostering systems, such as Skills for Health’s Realtime Rostering, provide a cost‑effective, accurate solution to the many staff scheduling challenges that organisations currently face.

Organisations are able to plan ahead to make sure they have the right mix of skills and competencies that they need, where

HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

they need them. This reduces short-notice cancellations of appointments or procedures due to an absence of appropriately-skilled staff. It can also help reduce dependency on costly last‑minute agency staff to cover any skills gaps, as such unplanned absences can instead be covered from within the existing staff capacity.

Switching to an e-rostering system has in some cases helped organisations to reduce their reliance on agency provision. Current Realtime Rostering users report that roster planning now takes them 75 per cent less time since adopting the system, and that they have reduced locum spend by 10 per cent to 20 per cent.

Developed by healthcare industry experts, Realtime Rostering consolidates information around staff deployment, shift preferences, sick leave, holiday – all in one place.

For managers, getting the roster right is more than important – it’s critical. Bryan Kessie, head of Technical Development at Skills for Health, says that managers have had their hands tied with a paper system

which cannot cope with last minute changes.

He explains: “Systems within modern hospitals demand integrated work patterns between different staff groups. Hospital theatres or multidisciplinary clinics depend on a range of staff across different professions, different grades and different locations all coming together in one place at one time to provide patient care – this needs to be co-ordinated and able to cope with changes to staff, times and location.

“Integrated care across complex hospital systems can no longer be done on spreadsheets or stickers on a wallchart, where one [wrong] click can remove data, or staff leaning against a wallchart take away a key clinic.”

E-rostering solutions are better at giving ‘realtime’ data to staff, and can be integrated with existing hospital systems to make them easy to use and provide all the data at staff fingertips.

Staff can access their rota information from anywhere, at any time, giving them

e Realtim akes ng m Rosteri o see who t it easy osed to be p is sup where and working, and who when rking is wo tly curren

E-Rostering

the ability to request changes and have the changes agreed within one simple system.

By ensuring adequate cover is secured well in advance, the technology also helps ensure staff morale and the overall demands of the Working Time Directive are maintained across all staff groups, even during busy times.

BENEFITS ACROSS THE BOARD Being able to plan further ahead and make the best use of current staff has an even greater impact over the winter, at hospitals’ busiest time. When winter demand is at its highest, any gap in staff rotas can leave staff struggling to pick up the slack. Realtime Rostering allows organisations to plan rotas up to a year in advance, with the flexibility to make changes in real time to deal with unexpected absences or shift swaps.

At a time when the need for efficiency savings to be made has been so widely emphasised, not only in hospitals across the NHS but for a wide range of organisations, e-rostering is also seen as an effective means of ensuring good people management practices are in place, and that staff are deployed in the most productive way.

There are decreased cancelled clinics and procedures, and there is improved communication. This gives patients and service providers the security that they can trust that any appointment will take place. Importantly, the monitoring of hours ensures staff are working within their limits providing better care.

Jessie continues: “There are also improvements for the organisation that staff are being used in the most efficient and safe way. Easier and faster production of compliant safe rotas by staff means more time can be devoted to patient care not administrative rostering tasks.”

BEST PRACTICE Nick Pitman, a consultant at Crosshouse Hospital in Kilmarnock, uses Realtime Rostering’s module created specifically for doctors, the Doctors’ Rostering System (DRS). Nick explains the impact of the DRS software on his job as rota lead, and how the time which he has saved on rota population, sickness and leave has been cut.

Rota population – the hours spent allocating juniors to teams and rotations, and allocating them to slots on the rota – is incredibly time‑consuming, and Nick often had to work on rotas in his own time at home, especially when accommodating sickness requirements, finding cover for unplanned absences, and approving and recording of leave to be taken.

Now, thanks to the DRS, he has been able to dramatically reduce the time spent drawing up, populating and shuffling massive Excel spreadsheets.

Nick says: “While the system has a number of advantages over the old, Excel-based, system, if we look at actual work reduction I see two key benefits. The main impact

E-rostering solutions are better at giving ‘realtime’ data to staff, and can be integrated with existing hospital systems to make them easy to use and provide all the data at staff fingertips on my workload has been rota population, which has greatly reduced the amount of work I need to put in at changeover time.

“E-rostering has reduced errors and allowed better cross checking of cover between teams.

It has also made it easier to react to last minute staffing changes and publish the rota in a timely manner. There is also a significant benefit from the dynamic updating of the rota in realtime and the ability to use the changes log to troubleshoot when needed.”

The software has also meant sickness time is more straightforward to cover, as it is easier to see where staff might be released from to cover gaps, and the handling of annual leave has been ‘revolutionised’.

Nick adds: “Requests are more easily submitted by the juniors, more easily checked for clashes on the rota, and more easily updated. This has had a massive impact on the time our rota admin team member has needed to spend administrating the rota. I understand that this has changed from being a full-time job for her to something that she can now manage part-time in parallel with working as a medical secretary in the Cardiology team.”

WORKFORCE PLANNING FOR STAFF AND SERVICE DELIVERY Staff in healthcare organisations are a valuable resource that needs to be managed effectively and efficiently. Effective workforce planning relies on accurate data, in order to be able to plan appropriately to meet future demand. Realtime Rostering offers a rich source of staff data that can be used to improve workforce planning.

At an operational level, individuals responsible for creating staff rosters can pinpoint the information they need easily – and they can do it from anywhere, at any

time. Realtime Rostering makes it easy to see who is supposed to be working where and when, and who is working currently. It can be integrated within the whole spectrum of the organisation’s existing systems, including HR, finance, time and attendance systems.

For staff, improvements will be seen for those working in a stressful environment, by giving more clarity and transparency on what they and their team are doing, when and with who. Holistically, less stress among the staff will offer benefits throughout the organisation.

As well as improving staff experience, e-rostering has a knock-on effect on patients too. Being able to plan further ahead for the necessary skill mix, could reduce cancellations due to last-minute absences or lack of skills.

Patients’ mental wellbeing is served by the certainty of an appointment and bringing the benefits of being treated by the right person, with the right skills, at the right time, leading to overall improved trust in the system.

Overall, Realtime Rostering offers organisations an integrated effective rostering solution that puts vital staff information at the heart of the organisation, increasing operational productivity, staff efficiency and improving patient care. It is hoped that the increased use of such digital working practices will streamline procedures and centralise data, creating a more efficient, forward‑thinking NHS that is better equipped to deal with the demands of the future. L

For more information about Realtime Rostering, and how it can support your organisation, visit www.realtimerostering.uk FURTHER INFORMATION www.skillsforhealth.org.uk

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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ehi Live 2017

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

STP Q&A

STPs and IT in the NHS

The NHS has been told to draw up STPs, but what are they, and what do they mean for IT? Informa commissioned an exclusive Q&A on the issues that will form the backdrop to November’s ehi Live WHAT’S THE BACKGROUND TO THE STPS? The financial pressures on the NHS are not new. In October 2014, NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens published his ‘Five Year Forward View’ plan to try and close a gap between funding and demand that could otherwise reach £30 billion by 2020-21.

The Forward View calculated the gap could be closed if the NHS made £22 billion of efficiency savings and the government put in £8 billion. The Chancellor at the time, George Osborne, said he would deliver this money in his Autumn Statement in 2014.

HAS GOVERNMENT FUNDING CAUSED A ROW? Yes. Prime Minister Theresa May has said the government is putting in £10 billion, which is ‘more than the NHS asked for’. Yet Parliament’s health and public accounts committees have proved that £2 billion of that had already been announced for 2014‑15, which is the year before the Forward View started. MPs have also shown that just £4.5 billion of the £8 billion is ‘new’ money, since £3.5 billion is being diverted from other sources, such as public health.

Also, most of the money is going in this year, with hardly any next year or the year after. And there’s another funding crisis in council‑run social care, which is essential for keeping elderly people out of hospital. However the money is counted, though, the NHS still needs to make £22 billion of efficiency savings.

WHERE IS THE NHS GOING TO FIND £22BN? The Forward View says £7 billion will come from central bodies, which is why the Department of Health has just announced a big round of job cuts, and the remaining £15 billion will be made by the local NHS. A lot of that £15 billion will come from trust efficiency programmes, some is due to come from the reorganisation of ‘back office’ services; such as finance or HR but also pathology, and some will come from changes to the way frontline services are paid for and organised.

The Forward View sets out new ‘models’ for managing the care of whole populations, and for creating ‘integrated’ health and social care services; and these are already being tested out by ‘vanguard’ projects. In December 2015, NHS England launched the STP process to try and drive change everywhere else.

HOW WERE THE STPS DRAWN UP? Local organisations were left to club together to form STP ‘footprints’. In the event, 44 were formed, ranging in size from 1.2 million

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HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

to 300,000 people. NHS England asked them to consider more than 50 questions, grouped around three themes: improving quality and developing new models of care; improving health and well-being; and improving the efficiency of services.

STP areas were asked to submit draft plans

by June last year and final plans by October.

NHS England hoped to review these before they were published, but councils started putting the plans on their websites as soon as the deadline was up. Birmingham and Solihull was first, with North Central London following almost immediately. Both STPs include plans that affect local hospitals; and councils argued that local people had a right to know what was being proposed.

WHAT ARE THE BIG, COMMON THEMES? Hospital closures and reorganisations are a feature of many STPs. But, in an early analysis, the Nuffield Trust think-tank said these tend to form part of bigger plans to shift as much care as possible to community and primary care services or to other settings, including people’s homes.

WHAT ABOUT IT? All the STPs identify digital technology as an ‘enabler’ of change, along with workforce and estates; although it can be difficult to pick out their precise plans. One reason for that is that before the STP process got going, clinical commissioning groups were asked to put together local digital roadmaps for their areas, and the STP footprints and LDR boundaries do not match (there are 44 STPs but 84 LDRs).

Also, the LDRs that have been published include sections on the need to complete the roll-out of electronic patient record systems in hospitals, while the STPs tend only to mention EPRs in passing. This doesn’t mean they won’t need to address ‘digital maturity’ in hospitals; or find a way to fund it.

WHAT TECHNOLOGY DO THE STPS WANT? There is a lot of interest in business intelligence and analytics, starting with data to ‘risk stratify’ populations and then target services

at people most at risk of being admitted to hospital or needing expensive treatment.

Also in ‘creating single, local records with read-write capability’ to share information between different parts of the NHS, and between NHS and social care. That’s both to remove the costs and inefficiency associated with paper and to make sure everybody working in those ‘integrated’ services has access to the patient information they need.

DO STPS COVER PRIMARY CARE THEN? They certainly do. A lot of STPs emphasise the need to ‘strengthen’ primary care, and to make sure people can get access to a GP service when they need one. That might mean making more use of systems that already exist to enable patients to book appointments and get prescription refills. But it might also mean using newer technologies, such as remote consultations. Many STPs also mention telehealth, remote monitoring, websites and apps as areas for investment; although TechUK thinks they could be more ambitious.

WILL THE STPS HELP TO DIGITISE THE NHS? They should, because the STP process is much more than a future planning exercise. NHS England and NHS regulators are starting to treat STPs as administrative areas; the footprints will be given their own performance indicators this spring and could be given collective financial ‘control targets’ in a year or so. As long as the NHS gets through the winter, and central and local organisations then buy into the reform agenda, this makes it much more likely that the plans will be delivered. However, digital investment will have to be paid for, and most of the STPs are looking for central funding.

The Treasury put aside £4.2 billion for NHS IT in the spending review, but a lot of this money is earmarked for infrastructure, security, and the ‘paperless’ agenda in hospitals.

Meanwhile, NHS England has created a sustainability and transformation fund to kickstart change, but a lot of the fund has been diverted to deal with acute trust deficits.

SO THE BIG QUESTION IS THE MONEY? Absolutely. The STPs recognise the importance of digital technology to the NHS, and they identify some specific priorities around data and analytics, shared health and care records, access to GP services, and patient-held records and apps. The big question is whether the cash can be found to pay for them. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.ehilive.co.uk

Finance

Paul Briddock, director of Policy at the Healthcare Financial Management Association, discusses sustainability and transformation plans Recently it feels like the state of NHS finance is reported on everyday with many negative messages dominating the headlines. With so many reports it can be very difficult to keep sight of what the real problems are and how to solve them.

In December, we released our latest NHS Financial Temperature Check, which periodically aims to paint the most up to date picture of the situation from those on the frontline of NHS finance.

Not surprisingly, the report found that many NHS organisations in all parts of the country continue to be under severe financial pressure, with predicted deficits. Despite this, the last set of NHS Improvement Q2 results showed that a small step forward has been made and hopefully marks the start of a gradually improving picture for Provider finances.

However, the planned savings for 2016/17 are still ambitious and after speaking to finance directors, it’s clear that they still lack confidence that their organisations can deliver the two per cent to three per cent a year productivity gains needed to close the expected £22 billion NHS gap.

SUSTAINABILITY AND TRANSFORMATION PLANS Sustainability and transformation plans (STPs) are the current focus for those working in NHS finance. The majority of finance directors see STPs as the best way to reduce the deficit, but an overwhelming proportion also voiced concerns about the way they are set up, with nearly three quarters (72 per

cent) concerned about their governance.

STPs were met with great enthusiasm when they were introduced but there has been growing scepticism over whether or not the frameworks can work in practice. Finance directors have limited confidence in the simultaneous delivery of both STP and organisational financial objectives, with only six per cent of trust finance directors and 17 per cent of CCG chief finance officers (CFOs) believing that they are both deliverable. This is understandable given finance directors will have different pressures coming from different directions.

This rings true as 62 per cent of NHS finance directors still say they will prioritise their organisational objectives rather than their STP objectives. On reflection, 82 per cent of finance directors believe that the regulatory regime needs to change to support the delivery of STPs, and 79 per cent believe the financial regime needs to change too.

Despite concerns, the report encouragingly revealed positive feelings around STP leadership and improvements in the collaboration between Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs) and Providers. 91 per cent of finance directors believe relationships have improved

LOCAL CARE ON A NATIONAL LEVEL The introduction of STPs is a positive step to ensure that health and care services address the needs of local populations for now and the future. However, the planned savings for 2016/17 are still ambitious and STPs, although positive, have a challenging job in delivering efficiency savings and working through the pressures currently facing the NHS. These pressures, such as sustainable workforce planning and reducing agency costs, are continually in need of strong leadership.

In 2017 it is important that we are realistic with financial targets. Meanwhile, the government needs to be transparent about what can and can’t be delivered in the year ahead within the current financial budget.

There is more work to do and it’s still early days to predict whether or not STPs will work effectively. The issues facing NHS finance are set to remain challenging but working through the problems in an open and transparent manner will be key to turning the situation around for the better, and for the future. L

Written by Paul Briddock, Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA)

Making STPs deliver in 2017

or stayed the same, with 46 per cent stating an overall improvement. Over half (58 per cent) also see clear and effective leadership around STPs. This is great to hear and hopefully these relationships and strides forward can continue into 2017.

Yet, it’s important to remember it is still early days. Many organisations are yet to find a balance and there are clearly still issues that will need to be worked through, but doing this in an open and transparent manner will be key to achieving the success we need across the NHS.

The ment govern to needs t about sparen be tran n and can’t be what ca ed in the year deliver within the ahead financial current dget bu

FURTHER INFORMATION www.hfma.org.uk

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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SIGN UP TO SAFETY

Patient Safety

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Reinforcing a safety culture in the NHS Safety technology has the potential to help NHS trusts move away from a culture of blame and fear, and instead approach patient safety with confidence. Health Business provides an update on the Sign up to Safety initiative and how an established safety culture benefits patients and staff alike Launched in March 2014, by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, the Sign up to Safety campaign set out a three-year objective to save 6,000 lives and reduce avoidable harm by half, to ultimately make England’s NHS the safest in the world. The national initiative has been designed specifically to help NHS organisations and their staff achieve their patient safety aspirations and care for their patients in the safest way possible.

At the launch of the campaign, Jeremy Hunt cited the ‘appalling cruelty and neglect’ which took place between 2005 and 2009 at Mid Staffordshire hospital, with disputed estimates suggesting that between 400 and 1,200 patients died as a result of poor care over the 50 months. The Healthcare Commission found the lacking care was a result of ‘inadequately trained staff who were too few in number, junior doctors left alone at night and patients left without food, drink or medication as their operations were repeatedly cancelled’. It also identified instances where ‘receptionists with no medical training were expected to assess patients coming in to A&E, some of whom needed urgent care.’

The revelations of the Mid Staffs scandal in 2013 by the Robert Francis QC, and failings in care subsequently uncovered at other hospitals led us to, as the Health Secretary put it, ‘a turning point for the entire health economy’. Thus, it was hoped that the Sign up to Safety initiative would mark the start of a new movement within the NHS in which each and every part of the healthcare system actively signs up to creating a strong, positive culture of safety.

improvement. In simple terms, the scheme aims to create a joyful, trusting, open and optimistic approach to patient safety improvement by empowering and enabling its members to make the changes they want to see in their work.

Indeed, by taking avoidable tragedies such as the Mid Staffs

Tho implem se the Sign enting campai up to Safety g vital, con can gain insight nvenient variety through a o improv f free safety eme resourcnt plan es

scandal as an opportunity to learn and improve the delivery of care, Sign up to Safety offers members a chance to feel that they have the power to make a difference.

An important part of the campaign involves sharing and celebrating progress and providing practical support and guidance through digital channels and social media. This digital route is particularly vital for ensuring members can quickly and easily gain access to what they need to know, as well as continually keeping members inspired and motivated E

LOCALLY LED, SELF-DIRECTED SAFETY IMPROVEMENT Sign up to Safety primarily works by creating a philosophy of locally led, self‑directed safety

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Planning, evaluating, procuring or managing medical technologies?

Need to save time, lower costs and reduce risk?

Where do you get unbiased advice and support?

Now celebrating its 20th year in the UK, ECRI is making a special offer to readers of Health Business to help improve the effectiveness, safety and economy of your health services, with the newly revamped, Healthcare Product Comparison System (HPCS). ECRI Institute is a not-for-profit and independent information supplier to over 5000 healthcare organisations globally. It offers consultation and an array of online tools to improve patient care that are managed by over 400 highly qualified specialists. ECRI offers a broad range of online tools and consultation: ECRI evaluates and reviews medical devices in their laboratories, providing expert unbiased insight: • Over 100 MDs, PhDs, MSc, MPHs, MSNs trained in research methodology • Practicing Physicians, Nurses & Med-techs • Biomedical Engineers • 12 Master’s Level Librarians • Patient Safety & Occupational Health experts • Healthcare Risk Management analysts • The shared expertise and experiences of 5000 members When looking to procure the safest, most appropriate and cost effective healthcare technologies, ECRI supports its customers with a large choice of tools. It is the Healthcare Product Comparison System that we’d like to focus on today. HPCS compares thousands of models in around 550 categories of medical devices. HPCS enables clinicians or anyone involved in procurement, to quickly identify which functionally equivalent models are available, how specifications compare and provides Request For Proposal templates. When preparing for tenders and inviting quotes, these save much effort and help ensure that any ‘RFP’ documents cover the important technical questions and invite only appropriate responses. In addition to the specification comparison charts, guidance on each technology reduce the time you need for researching the market, producing shortlists and organising trials.

HPCS helps you make the best decisions and is a powerful knowledge base, independent of any medical device supplier’s sales message. In addition to the model-specific specification charts, HPCS helps you prepare for meetings with colleagues and suppliers with an executive summary that covers the following points for every technology: • Purpose of the technology • Principles of operation • Reported Problems • Purchase considerations • Other considerations • Stage of product lifecycle All this, plus unlimited personal consultation with our team of technology experts.

Search the international online database by any term—device, manufacturer name, region marketed, price, and more. Constantly updated, HPCS delivers the most up-to-date information on medical equipment.

ECRI is offering a 20% discount for new HPCS subscriptions, until June2017, to readers of Health Business by sending your name and postal contact details to info@ecri.org.uk and stating ‘HPCS offer.’ We’ll be pleased to offer demonstrations, answer questions or provide a quotation.

What you get as a subscriber to HPCS: • An easily searchable, international online database that delivers information and insights to understand, compare, and purchase medical equipment.

• Online database of 550 types of devices • Side-by-side model specifications of international products that help you narrow the selected fields quickly and easily • Technology overviews to get important insights you won’t get directly from the manufacturer to help make well-informed purchasing decisions • Custom comparison charts allow you to compare the models you want with from the most comprehensive database of product specifications • PDF library of all archived editions of HPCS reports including technology overviews and comparison charts • Request for Proposal (RFP) templates in Excel format containing the basic information you need to create RFP documents. ECRI Institute recommended specifications are also included • HPCS Hotline with personal assistance for help when you need it

info@ecri.org.uk | www.ecri.org.uk +44 (0)1707 831001 ECRI Institute European Office 29 Broadwater Road Suite 104 Welwyn Garden City AL7 3BQ United Kingdom

SIGN UP TO SAFETY

Patient Safety

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

 in sustaining their patient safety mission.

According to NHS England, although there has been a concerted effort to improve the safety of patient care over the past fifteen years, achievements have not progressed as much as anticipated or been sustained in the long term. In order to create a longer lasting change, part of the Sign up to Safety scheme encourages members to challenge themselves and other members to question everything and re-think patient safety in order to consider what could be done differently over the next fifteen years.

FIVE SAFETY PLEDGES The campaign is open to both organisations and individuals, who can sign up by pledging to five key safety principles. The principles are: putting safety first by committing to reduce avoidable harm in the NHS by half and making locally developed goals and plans public; to continually learn by making your organisation more resilient to risks, by acting on the feedback from patients and staff and by constantly measuring and monitoring how safe your services are; being honest, by being transparent with people about your progress to tackle patient safety issues and supporting staff to be candid with patients and their families if something goes wrong; collaborating, by taking a lead role in supporting local collaborative learning, so that improvements are made across all of the local services that patients use; and being supportive by helping people understand why things go wrong and how to put them right, in addition to giving staff the time and support to improve and celebrate progress.

Organisations implementing the Sign up to Safety campaign can gain vital, convenient insight through a variety of free safety improvement plan resources, podcasts and regular webinars, offering quality expertise to build your organisations’ skills. Online patient safety resources include a series of patient safety and quality improvement websites citing evidence, the latest news, research and examples of other international campaigns, ranging from BMJ blogs to archived resources from the National Patient Safety Agency.

Meanwhile, the webinars are designed to help organisations connect with and learn from other members; share how others are delivering the campaign at a local level; inspire new ideas and approaches by sharing what is and isn’t working for others; and help make sense of the wider patient safety landscape and how Sign up to Safety complements other work.

A CULTURE OF LEARNING In addition to the first 12 vanguard hospitals which joined at the launch of the campaign, a further 397 organisations have since committed to developing a patient safety improvement plan based on the actions of the five Sign up to Safety pledges, with Spire Alexandra Hospital being the latest

It was hoped that the Sign up to Safety initiative would mark the start of a new movement within the NHS in which each and every part of the healthcare system actively signs up to creating a strong, positive culture of safety organisation to join, in January this year.

Notably, the Central London Community Healthcare (CLCH) NHS Trust, one of the initial trusts to join the campaign, joined in an attempt to improve safety awareness on dispersed and diverse services and to reduce the incidence of complications from pressure ulcers. CLCH provides healthcare services to almost one million people across the boroughs of Barnet, Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, and Westminster.

The CLCH set out actions to continue to demonstrate an increase in the reporting of incidents across the trust whilst reducing the level of harm caused to patients; reduce the incidence of medication errors across the trust by a minimum of 10 per cent; implement a zero tolerance of grade four pressure ulcers caused under its care; reduce the incidence of pressure ulcers and falls (with harm) year on year by a minimum of 10 per cent; develop service specific indicators on safety; develop its patient safety and risk group meeting to ensure that it triangulates data from its patient feedback and from incidents litigation and PALS / complaints; publish safety performance data on its website and has developed a scorecard to demonstrate this, focussing on the incidence of pressure ulcers (as it is the trust’s highest source of harm); and ensuring the new duty of candour guidance is implemented.

In arguing his case for Sign up to Safety, Hunt outlined the economic value of the campaign. According to the latest analysis

by the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA), trusts in England have paid in excess of £1.4 billion in negligence claims in the year 2015.

Among the highest increases over the last five years were Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust, whose bill rose from £14,000 in 2011 to £981,000 in 2015.

Commenting on the statistics, Helen Vernon, chief executive of the NHSLA, advised: “The key to reducing the growing costs of claims is learning from what goes wrong and supporting changes to prevent harm in the first place. We want to reduce the need for expensive litigation. This means increasing the use of mediation in the NHS, early transparency, saying ‘sorry’ and demonstrating that lessons have been learned to prevent the incident happening again.”

The need for greater transparency is being recognised by Sign up to Safety in the form of National Kitchen Table Week, due to take place from 27 March – 2 April. During this week, all of Sign up to Safety’s members are being called on to host their own ‘Kitchen Tables’ and invite staff and colleagues to converse, openly, honestly and without judgement about what they know about keeping people safer. L

To find out more about Sign up to Safety and to examine how organisations are using the scheme to improve patient safety at their facility follow @SignUpToSafety.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.england.nhs.uk/signuptosafety

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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New Bender UK facility is a showcase of electrical safety technology RCMS150 devices monitor local distribution within the building across offices and meeting rooms, and critical areas such as the plant room and air conditioning system.

The installed Bender devices monitor the frequency, current, power performance, energy consumption and harmonics to present a comprehensive picture of the building’s power infrastructure. The combination of power monitoring and electrical safety delivers an integrated solution which provides early warning of faults or failure for all critical aspects of the buildings electrical infrastructure.

Bender UK has moved into a new purpose-built headquarters in Ulverston, Cumbria. The 2000m² building accommodates offices, large conference facilities, warehousing, training and customer demonstration areas.

Performance is critical

The new facility and service centre is designed to accommodate continued growth and to be a showpiece for the company’s advanced technology solutions. Bender surgical lighting, touch screen theatre control panels and other critical care medical solutions will be permanently on display for client demonstrations and training. The facility is also equipped with Bender continuous monitoring technology to enable predictive maintenance of the buildings electrical infrastructure.

Bender’s continuous intelligent monitoring systems provide a comprehensive overview of a hospital’s power network, enabling energy costs to be identified and reduced, while protecting critical power systems and achieving maximum availability of electrical supply. It also enables periodic inspection and testing without switch off.

Bender UK has doubled in size since 2010 driven by its ability to deliver bespoke engineered solutions and an advanced service and support capability for the medical sector.

Power supply performance and resilience is critical to health trusts and the managers of clinical facilities to operate safely and cost effectively.

Managing Director Gareth Brunton explains: “Our purpose-built facility represents a major investment by Bender Group in its UK operation.

It provides superb facilities for the training and 24/7 technical support provided to customers across the UK and Ireland.

The new facility is connected to POWERSCOUT® the latest Bender software development which delivers comprehensive analysis, reporting and live data on the status of the building. This smart cloud based technology produces reports from the residual current monitoring and power quality metering technology onsite, which enables pro-active analysis, fault finding and maintenance.

Technical support analysing Powerscout® software

RCMS150 installed in a distribution board

Bender current transformers

Monitored by POWERSCOUT®

Bender’s Residual Current Monitoring (RCM) and Power Energy Metering (PEM) is incorporated into the new Bender UK facility. This includes a 12-channel RCMS460 which monitors the main distribution board, while

BENDER UK The Old Tannery, Low Mill Business Park, Ulverston, Cumbria, LA12 9EE Tel: 44(0) 1229 480123 Tel ROI: +353 1 5060611 www.bender-uk.com

This solution is particularly appropriate for all sizes of healthcare facilities where the electrical infrastructure cannot afford to fail, and where estates personnel would benefit from remote monitoring technology. Bender’s Powerscout® software combined with residual current monitoring solutions can be a vital tool for managing and maintaining healthcare estates.

Bender’s new UK headquarters is the perfect showcase to demonstrate equipment and technology capabilities.

HVAC

Having control over hospital ventilation

Facilities Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Hospitals represent unique environments with myriad challenges that are not seen in most other workplaces. The importance of a hospital’s HVAC system can tackle infection, lower energy consumption and improve patient comfort. Health Business looks at these benefits in more detail Hospital air conditioning and hospital ventilation systems, like the majority of systems in public buildings, are tasked with controlling air temperature, air flow, air quality and humidity. However, unlike other public sector buildings, hospital air conditioning has the added pressure of coordinating with specific medical practices.

For example, there are important differences between the heating and air conditioning requirements of the patient waiting room and the operating theatre. The waiting room, likely to be the nearest station to the hospital entrance will naturally fluctuate in heat depending on the time of day, season, and on

the amount of people present in the space at any one time. In cold weather, heating the waiting room becomes important as the doors let in the cold air and patients face waiting times of up to four hours to be seen by a doctor. Operating rooms, on the other hand, require very precise and controlled air pressure levels, with pressurisation and higher levels of air filtration necessary. Likewise, critical care areas, isolation units and laboratories necessitate ongoing controlled ventilation.

BACTERIAL INFECTIONS One of a hospital’s main responsibilities is controlling the spread of bacteria and disease.

With patients spending varying amounts of time on hospital wards, and ranging in age and medical condition, the spread of disease can be extremely dangerous, especially for elderly patients, newborns and babies, and patients with compromised immune functioning. While the majority of this infection prevention is maintained through the regular E

Unlike other or ect public s hospital gs, buildin ystems have HVAC s d pressure of e the add inating with coord c medical specifi tices prac

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Case Study

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Daikin explains the importance of regular service and maintenance within the healthcare sector Daikin Applied (UK) Ltd, (formerly McQuay UK Ltd) is the market leader in energy efficient AHU and chiller products and servicing. The dedicated service division, Daikin Applied Service (DAPSUK), has been providing tailored HVAC service and maintenance solutions for over 25 years.

With regular maintenance being the key to reliability, the service division’s strength is in working closely with healthcare facilities managers to not only maintain the building plant for critical continuous operation but to continuously monitor the systems, with the target of preventative maintenance, reducing downtime and ultimately reducing the building energy usage.

Both chiller plant and air handling unit plant systems need to be regularly maintained to ensure smooth, trouble free operation.

All plant is critical for the healthcare facility and with a regular service and maintenance unexpected breakdowns can be reduced by up to 70 per cent with system operation downtime reduced by up to 40 per cent.

Chiller maintenance is extensive and whilst the onsite FM team can carry out some basic weekly checks there is a recommendation

of four service engineer visits per year covering the following: mechanical check – such as chilled water checks on flow switch, air in the system and pressure drop; refrigeration check – such as suction and discharge pressure and superheat and expansion valve operation; electrical inspection – such as on wiring, sensors, high pressure switches, operating currents and transducers; and a unit inspection – such as fault generation and response monitoring, controls values and settings.

These service areas covered will help ensure that the chiller remains in good working order. Whilst Air Handling Unit maintenance may be considered a more simple service regime, ensuring that filters are clean or replaced on a regular basis, it is also important to check fundamental unit operations such as belt tensions, damper operation and electrical connection tightness to ensure that the unit will

operate when it is called for.

As part of any service and maintenance agreement preventative maintenance is the key, however, there are sometimes still unforeseen breakdowns, which for the healthcare sector is a particular issue due to the critical nature of the application. It is imperative that the service provider can put in place corrective actions at the earliest time, which with over 50 in-field service engineers, 24/7 call out response and locally UK stored spares department Daikin Applied Service can cover the healthcare industry needs for the most mission critical installations.

The next step change in service and maintenance will be remote monitoring of plant via Daikin on Site which will enable even greater levels of forward planning of maintenance and remote diagnostics of problems, further reducing downtime of all plant.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01322 424950 info@daikinapplied.uk www.daikinapplied.uk

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HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

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HVAC  cleaning of equipment, wards and hands, one way that disease can be transmitted is airborne. Because hospitals and other medical facilities have elevated levels of pathogens, stringent controls are necessary for the safety of both patients and hospital staff.

Therefore, when implemented correctly and prioritised, a hospital’s heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) system can form the first line of defence. However, if contaminated, it can also be a contributor to the danger. In May 2014, the new £430 million Private Finance Initiative-funded Southmead Hospital in Bristol had to cancel nearly 200 operations as a result of problems with the air conditioning.

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations also cover healthcare and say that mechanical ventilation systems, including air conditioning, are regularly cleaned, tested and maintained to ensure that they are kept clean and free from contaminants. The Guide to Good Practice TR/19 Internal Cleanliness of Ventilation Systems (published by the Building Engineering Specialists Association, The Besa) offers professional ventilation hygiene providers in-depth guidance on how ventilation systems should be cleaned and maintained.

Furthermore, in many cases, the makeup of the microbial community varies depending on whether the air conditioning or ventilation system introduced outdoor air.

TEMPERATURE CONTROL AND ENERGY USAGE Part of the function of the HVAC system in any building is to create a comfortable environment for occupants, and nowhere is this more important than in a hospital setting, where patients may be immobile in their beds for days at a time. Ventilation is, by definition, a means of removing and replacing the air in a particular space. In its simplest form this may be achieved by opening windows and doors, but in a hospital ward this is more efficiently achieved by mechanical means.

Cooling is very expensive in terms of energy costs and should be provided only where necessary to maintain a comfortable environment for staff and patient, or to ensure satisfactory operation of equipment.

The imaging department in particular may require cooling to offset the equipment load.

According to Heating and ventilation systems: Health Technical Memorandum

03-01: Specialised ventilation for healthcare premises, calculations and thermal modelling should be undertaken to ensure that, during the summertime, internal temperatures in patient areas do not exceed 28oC (dry bulb) for more than 50 hours per year.

Moreover, owing to capital and running costs, full air‑conditioning should be used only in essential areas, such as operating departments, critical care areas, manufacturing pharmacies and areas with particularly sensitive equipment.

A sound grasp of energy usage and where it is being wasted can make a significant impact on a building’s energy costs. Energy efficiency is an issue looming large for every major building owner, and it is no different for the nation’s healthcare facilities.

Research done by the Chartered Institute of Building Services Engineers (CIBSE) made a comparison between energy use in a model building as envisaged by Part L of the E

Facilities Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Cooling is very expensive in terms of energy costs and should be provided only where necessary to maintain a comfortable environment for staff and patient, or to ensure satisfactory operation of equipment

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

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Johnson Controls provides the building systems, equipment and know-how to create and maintain quality, health and sustainable environments. From controlled temperatures in the operating environment to improved clinical workflow, efficient technologies can help you save time, reduce risk, decrease costs and improve building performance and savings – we call it Healthcare Environment OptimisationTM. Call 0845 108 0001 or visit www.johnsoncontrols.co.uk

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HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

HVAC  Building Regulations, and that of a real‑world example. It found that while hot water and heating performed similarly to the modelled building, annual consumption in Kilowatts per hour per m2 (kWh/m2) for cooling and the operation of fans, pumps and controls were far in excess of the expected levels.

Overall, the actual energy consumption was roughly 200kWh/m2 over and above the predicted figure, with cooling and fans, pumps and controls contributing the largest chunks of that usage. The outcome of CIBSE’s research was a document called TM54: Evaluating Operational Energy Performance of Buildings at Design Stage.

The idea is that it can be used as a tool at design stage to avoid such vast performance gap between how a building performs on paper and what it does once operational.

OTHER HOSPITAL REQUIREMENTS Hospital HVAC systems clearly go beyond simply ventilating and heating rooms within the hospital building. The systems can help to detect fires and eliminate smoke from exits and enclosures, with complex engineered smoke control systems possibly required to aid in pressurisation control. Additionally, facilities routinely produce fumes and chemicals that present health or safety hazards to patients and staff, and therefore ventilations systems become part of the filtration system

Because hospitals and other medical facilities have elevated levels of pathogens, stringent controls are necessary for the safety of both patients and hospital staff that helps to control the concentration of contaminants to keep them at safe levels.

HVAC systems are also integral to hospital catering departments, as they look to prepare, cook and store large quantities of food on site.

Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Trust signed a deal with Adcock Refrigeration & Air Conditioning Ltd to replace the hospital’s existing equipment responsible for cooling the catering department’s preparation and storage facilities, as it approached the end of its viable working life. As part of the contract, the trust saw a new purpose built modular freezer room constructed, refrigerated by one of four Bitzer units installed as part of the development.

FINANCIAL BENEFITS Speaking at the annual Healthcare Estates conference, Darren Jones, managing director of specialist consultancy Low Carbon Europe, explained how ventilation systems are frequently overlooked as a source of potential savings, but argued that optimising the

Facilities Management

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

way air was supplied to just one operating theatre could save a hospital £5,000 in annual running costs. Reading into this on a whole NHS level, that figure could add up to £10 million a year if replicated right across the whole of the NHS and would also avoid 80 tonnes of carbon emissions.

He said that any ventilation fan that is over five years old is almost certainly inefficient and a replacement would pay for itself in less than three years. Facilities managers could cut running costs by 29 per cent by replacing the fans in their air handling units and the addition of heat recovery to ventilation systems can reduce costs in non-clinical areas by up to 30 per cent. Even more basic measures like having grilles and filters cleaned regularly can save thousands of pounds a year. L

Part of this article is taken from Health Business 16.3, in which Graham Wright, president of HEVAC, contributed an article on ‘Creating and maintaining a healthy building’.

Maximise your patient flow – even in the winter months Winter pressures can make it extremely difficult to achieve efficient patient care. Vanguard Healthcare provides innovative temporary operating theatres which can increase access to treatment and reduce waiting times.

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RISK ASSESSMENT

Hospitals carry the same fire risks as most other settings, but as large estates with mass technology in constant use, they pose more of a danger if a fire breaks out. Will Lloyd, of the Fire Industry Association, addresses the main risks and the importance of having a sound fire plan In a shocking lack of knowledge regarding fire safety, news of four hospitals within the UK reached national press this year. The reason?

They all lacked sufficient fire protection.

The Sun reported that the hospital in Coventry was hit with £380 million bill after it was revealed that builders had failed to fire-proof it. Of course, this is no fault of the doctors and other medical staff working in the building, but it does highlight the dangers that a fire could do to a building and how

important it is to comply with fire regulations.

Regardless of the type of building, the fire regulations for England and Wales are all part of a piece of legislation called the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005. This legislation sets out all the responsibilities of the owner of the building (called the ‘responsible person’ in UK legislation).

In simple terms, the

BEING AWARE OF THE RISKS Hospitals can be very large and complex buildings. The main risks for fire in a hospital are the main risks of fire everywhere, but with hospitals there are more risks. There’s the risk of patients with limited mobility as well as all the flammable substances that most buildings do not contain, such as chemicals and oxygen supplies, and all the flammable materials within a pharmacy or an operating theatre. Even if one simply considers the sheer volume of curtains and bedding within a hospital, that presents a risk too, because naturally cloth is flammable.

The Department for Health has published a wide range of guidance for hospitals on the potential risks involved, called ‘Fire safety measures for health sector buildings (HTM 05‑03)’.

This guide is essential reading for a responsible person as it outlines E

A should plan up for p be drawn horizon rogressive whereb tal evacuation section y each floor o , r of acts as the hospital a ‘compa different rtm for a fir ent’ e

Written by Will Lloyd, Fire Industry Association

Assessing fire safety on hospital wards

‘responsible person’ must ensure the safety of all of the people within the building. In a hospital setting, the real crux of the matter is the sheer volume of vulnerable people within the hospital building that must be protected in the case of fire, along with all the staff and visitors to the hospital. As a legal responsibility, the ‘responsible person’ must carry out a fire risk assessment to manage the risk to the vulnerable people.

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Fire Safety

RISK ASSESSMENT

 some important factors to consider in terms of fire safety, and is both thorough and comprehensive. The guidance outlines almost everything that one should consider in terms of fire safety – from general fire safety, to more specific aspects such as provisions for textiles and furnishings, escape lifts, and fire detection and alarm systems. All of these guides are available to download from gov.uk, but the Fire Industry Association (FIA) is also available for practical and technical advice and guidance regarding fire risk assessments and fire alarm systems over the phone.

Of course, a great consideration is the patients themselves and the danger present to them in the event of a fire. Due to limited mobility, a plan should be drawn up for progressive horizontal evacuation, whereby each floor or section of the hospital acts as a different ‘compartment’ for a fire. When the fire approaches a nearby compartment, staff and patients should evacuate that compartment, rather than evacuating everybody from the whole building at once.

This is why passive fire protection – insulation from fire within the walls, doors, and windows is vital – as it blocks fires from travelling from one compartmented area to another.

This is the reason that fire doors are such an important part of trying to contain the fire in the room behind the doors.

Fire doors are designed to help stop the spread of fire beyond the doors; it helps in the event of an evacuation situation to keep the fire contained within the designed ‘compartment’ of the building.

However, in a hospital, fire doors are often propped open or bashed into by hospital trolleys. But this can be exceptionally dangerous as it increases the risk of fires spreading through the building. Keeping the doors closed keeps the fire safely behind the door, allowing for a greater escape time.

Therefore, it is vital not to prop fire doors

Hospitals can be very large and complex buildings. The main risks for fire in a hospital are the main risks of fire everywhere, but with hospitals there are more risks open with hospital trolleys or cause damage to them as this reduces their effectiveness.

Additionally, hospital trolleys banging into manual call points (the button that activates the fire alarm) is one of the prime causes of false alarms in hospitals. Research sponsored by the FIA from earlier this year, entitled ‘Investigations into the causes of false fire alarms’, highlighted that despite this problem being exceptionally common, it is something that can easily be remedied. The solution is to ask a specialist fire alarm company to install a special plastic cover to go over the call point, which should protect it from getting knocked by busy staff with trolleys.

Not only do false alarms cause time to be lost investigating the cause, they also cause distress to patients who may be worried that there is a real fire on the premises.

It is therefore recommended that alarms have a delay before sounding. During this time, a team should investigate the cause of the alarm – and confirm if the fire is real or false. If a fire is confirmed, the evacuation plan including progressive horizontal evacuation should be followed.

HAVING A SOUND FIRE PLAN Understanding the evacuation plan and having a robust system for the event of a fire is a necessity. Perhaps even more important is the need to communicate this plan to the staff. Communication is key, particularly in a situation where fire alarms need to be tested. Best practice states that a fire alarm should be tested weekly – but it is

vital to inform staff of the test to minimise disruption and allow the staff to reassure patients that it is not a real fire alarm.

This is why the best advice anyone could give in regards to fire safety is just to remain vigilant; keep the fire risk assessment up to date and follow its recommendations to the letter. The fire risk assessment forms the entire basis of the fire safety management strategy for the building, and should be reviewed on a regular basis. Talk to staff and make fire safety an integral part of caring for patients. Staff should all be involved.

As a minimum, fire safety training should be carried out once a year, but it depends on the needs of the staff and patients as well as the type of training – staff should be made aware not just of the evacuation procedure, but of how to use evacuation equipment such as sleds, chairs, or other equipment designed to evacuate the immobile.

Additionally, portable fire extinguisher training is such an important part of the strategy; if staff are trained to know how to use a fire extinguisher, they can combat small fires (no larger than a waste paper basket, for example), which will prevent the fire getting bigger and becoming a problem.

Training staff how to use the equipment in a practical sense and letting them use it in a mock-fire situation will help increase their confidence and help them to provide better care for the patients overall. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.fia.uk.com

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THE MODULECO WAY OF DELIVERING PROJECTS

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A 52 Bed Ward - 18 Weeks

Day Case Theatre completed from order to handover in 16 Weeks

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ModuleCo is a leading provider of fast track healthcare facilities, specialising in the design and installation of an extensive range of complex healthcare buildings ModuleCo offers a unique service in the market, benefiting from our own in house design team and architect with over 20 years experience in modular design. We can provide a complete architectural design service from concept through to detailed technical drawings.

Managing our own manufacturing facility and entire build process provides us with complete control over the programme and ensures the high quality of all the of facilities we deliver. We always encourage our clients to visit and watch their facility develop.

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Our range covers all essential healthcare areas and includes but is not limited to: l Operating theatres • General anaesthetic • Orthopaedic • Ophthalmic l High specification laboratories l Diagnostic Imaging Facilities • PET-CT • MRI • CT

l Wards • Isolation • High dependency l Endoscopy suites l Containment areas l Pathology laboratories l Birthing Centres l Mortuaries

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Modular Buildings

PROCUREMENT

Written by Jack Steele, NHS Shared Business Services

Cheaper and greener building solutions The NHS SBS Modular Buildings Framework is the only national agreement of its type, covering offsite building solutions for purchase, hire and lease. NHS Shared Business Services discuss the agreement and outline its benefits for the healthcare sector The NHS SBS Modular Buildings Framework is the only national agreement of its type, covering offsite building solutions for purchase, hire and lease. NHS Shared Business Services discuss the agreement and outline its benefits for the healthcare sector All public sector organisations could achieve an average of five per cent savings compared to purchasing solutions direct via a new Modular Buildings framework – the only national agreement of its type, launched by NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS).

NHS SBS is a unique joint venture between the Department of Health and Sopra Steria founded in 2004. As the leading provider of business support services to the NHS in England, it works with over a third of provider

trusts and 100 per cent of commissioning bodies, as well as a range of other NHS organisations. NHS SBS’ mission is to deliver £1 billion savings back to the NHS by 2020, having already delivered audited savings of over £400 million. This has been achieved by providing Finance & Accounting, Procurement and Employment Services to hundreds of NHS organisations.

The NHS SBS strategic procurement team offers a large number of national framework agreements that are available to all NHS organisations. The new Modular Buildings framework adds to its growing Estates and Facilities portfolio, which includes Construction Consultancy Services, Electrical Sundries, Estates Services, Facilities Management and Waste Management Services to name but a few.

Modular construction is a process in which a building is constructed off-site, under controlled plant conditions, using the same materials and designing to the same codes

The of the f scope is broadramework any off , covering includinsite solution theatre g operating surgerie s, wards, GP s, cateringoffice space, and spefacilities cial units ist

and standards as conventionally built facilities but in about half the time. The efficiency gains from manufactured, modular solutions support the delivery of the government’s construction and industry strategy targets, which include time and cost savings as well as whole life cost benefits and in use savings.

PROCURING MODULAR BUILDINGS The new NHS SBS Modular Building framework provides a compliant route for the procurement of all types of modular buildings, covering offsite building solutions for purchase, hire and lease with specific lots for healthcare, education, catering and bespoke solutions.

The Healthcare Lots have been further divided to cover hire projects and purchases or leases under and above £1 million. This ensures that only the right mix of specialist providers have been awarded under each Lot. Although governed under the NHS Terms and Conditions there is also the option of using more specialist construction contracts such as the JCT and NEC3 where appropriate.

The framework has been awarded following a fair and open competition; with the specification developed through consultation with the market and experts in the field. E

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BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Cyber Security Services for Healthcare NHS Information Governance Toolkit (IGT) Advice and Assurance services around compliance and submission of the NHS Information Governance Toolkit (IGT) Health and Social Care Network (HSCN) Information security analysis and implementation guidance to help organisations conform to the HSCN Consumer obligations around ownership and responsibility for the HSCN Connection Agreement.

These include incident reporting, cyber and information security, network monitoring compliance, securing information, access controls as well as information governance.

Cyber Risk Assessment and Management Services We provide business impact assessments and analysis of your information security management system and infrastructure. We will provide independent advice and fully document any measures required to address any identified risks. In line with recognised frameworks and HMG best practice such as ISO 27001 or Cyber Essentials. We are also an official testing and certification body for schemes such as Cyber Essentials Plus and IASME Gold.

Privacy and GDPR Assessment Services We can provide gap analysis and advice with respect to the Data Protection Act and help to ready your organisation for the obligations around the upcoming General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Telephone • 0800 644 0193 • Email • info@stratiaconsulting.com • Web • www.stratiaconsulting.com/services-healthcare.html

LANGLEY PUTS MORE INTO YOUR ROOF SO YOUR HOSPITAL GETS MORE OUT

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All this goes into a Langley roof – with access to approved contractors and installers and after care support – all designed to minimise risk and deliver roofing excellence.

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PROCUREMENT  Suppliers have been awarded based on a mixture of quality and price criteria and have all passed stringent checks on their financial status, quality standards, health and safety policies and environmental credentials.

Participating organisations can choose to perform a further competition under the agreement to drive further savings, or simply direct award to a preferred supplier, which further speeds up the procurement process.

The idea for the framework itself came from the growing number of enquiries from NHS trusts looking for an offsite construction procurement route. With limited procurement options available and EU procurement regulations to adhere to, many organisations faced severe delays in their projects that negated against modular’s main advantage, which is its speed of delivery.

The scope of the framework itself is broad, covering any offsite solution including operating theatres, wards, GP surgeries, office space, catering facilities and specialist units. The expertise in the offsite construction market means that any new or temporary building project now has the potential to be built offsite. With only specialist offsite construction suppliers with full turnkey capabilities being awarded, there is the opportunity for early collaboration and no need for the further sub-contracting of work.

The NHS Five Year Forward View has encouraged efforts to deliver more healthcare out of acute hospitals and closer to home, with the aim of providing better care for patients, cutting the number of unplanned bed days in hospitals and reducing net costs. The framework can look to support this anticipated demand shift, by providing new GP surgeries in much shorter timescales than through traditional onsite build methods. Offsite construction can also be used to quickly establish new temporary or permanent facilities in the case of emergencies such as flooding.

CONSTRUCTING SOLUTIONS TO HIGH DEMAND Another area of interest to the NHS is the ability to purchase or hire wards and operating theatres quickly to deal with influxes in demand, particularly during the winter period.

These are built to the equivalent, if not higher, standard than traditional onsite construction.

This is because up to 80 per cent of the building is produced in a controlled factory setting. Any potential issues can therefore be ironed out in advance in the factory rather than onsite. The framework also encourages the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM), which is a process that involves creating and using an intelligent 3D model to inform and communicate project decisions.

Popular non-medical building types include office space, staff accommodation and modular kitchens, which can be a great way to introduce a new kitchen facility to any site quickly, or to continue catering

Modular Buildings

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Another area of interest to the NHS is the ability to purchase or hire wards and operating theatres quickly to deal with influxes in demand, particularly during the winter period operations for sites that are undertaking a refurbishment. A temporary modular kitchen can be specified to make sure that a site can carry on serving meals to patients, staff and visitors while the work takes place.

Temporary kitchens can be specified in a range of different sizes, can be used to cater for menus of any type, and can provide anything from a few hundred, to many thousands, of meals each day. They arrive fully equipped and can be up and running on site in a matter of hours.

Permanent modular kitchens offer a number of advantages over traditional build, such as: speed of construction (they can be constructed in as little as six weeks); reduced disruption to your site (as most work takes place in a factory controlled environment); the ability to expand the kitchen once on site by simply adding more units, as well as the ability to move the kitchen to a different location at a later date. While some site preparation work may be required to ensure the relevant services are in place, the modular kitchen units arrive complete with equipment and services installed, meaning that the installation time on site can last just a few days.

full turnkey solutions. With projects nearly always running on time and on budget, and different financing models available, modular solutions are already starting to become more common place within the health service.

One final area of benefit of modular buildings is their environmentally friendly and green credentials, which makes them more sustainable than traditional construction methods. The manufacture approach used in modular building construction ensures that strict factory quality control systems are adhered to and this in turn leads to a more efficient construction process. By utilising sustainable materials and minimising material wastage, environmental and social responsibilities are accounted for without imposing onerous cost implications on the budget. For healthcare environments, modular construction scores highly, not only in combining lower embodied energy use and consumption, but also cleaner sites and reduced waste. L

GREEN CREDENTIALS There are huge benefits to offsite construction, particularly within the NHS where there is often limited onsite space, urgent requirements and squeezed capital budgets.

This framework aims to solve these issues through an easy to use procurement route with specialist suppliers who can all provide

If you do require any further information, including details on how to access the agreement, please contact the NHS SBS contract enquiries team at NSBS. contractenquiries@nhs.net or 0161 212 3940

There has already been substantial interest in the new framework from across the NHS in the UK including Northern Ireland.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.sbs.nhs.uk

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Olympia, London

25-26 April

2017

*100 Complimentary places - Register now * Available for attendees employed by the NHS or private Hospitals

Event Partner:

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Taking place over two days at London’s Olympia on the 25 & 26 April, the event theme is ‘Innovative Technology in Support of Healthcare’ and promises to give visitors and delegates a unique experience.

Hospital Innovations 2017 will demonstrate how innovation can be introduced rapidly into the working practice of healthcare estates and infrastructure to achieve efficiency and improved patient care.

Lord Carter, Honorary Patron of IHEEM, will be giving the Keynote presentation at Hospital Innovations, and presenting the first ‘Carter Innovation Award’ during the proceedings. This will be given to the Trust or organisation that best represents the use of innovation to improve healthcare estates and infrastructure. Submissions for projects that can be considered for this new award are encouraged. Full details can be found at www.hospital-innovations.com

To be part of the event contact Liz Osborne on 01892 518877 or email lizosborne@stepex.com or visit www.hospital-innovations.com Event Sponsor:

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Hospital Innovations

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EVENT PREVIEW

Inviting innovation and talking technology Taking place at London’s Olympia on the 25-26 April, the conference and exhibition at Hospital Innovations will address the key issues currently facing the NHS. Health Business previews the event It’s no secret that the demands on the NHS are constantly evolving. Life expectancy is increasing and an ageing population puts greater pressure on both NHS and private healthcare services. Resources are stretched and, while the battle to increase NHS funding is fought in the House of Commons, those who manage hospitals across the UK are looking for new ways of increasing efficiency, reducing running costs and improving the delivery of patient services. Innovation is the key.

Hospital Innovations has been launched to foster joined up thinking. This is an event that will bring together key decision makers in hospital management teams who are collectively responsible for the delivery of patient services in the UK. Most importantly, we are working with the direction of representatives from over 20 NHS hospitals across the country.

The Hospital Innovations conference and exhibition will feature a whole host of key names from the sector and innovative solutions to help healthcare professionals improve efficiency in hospitals and health centres. Key speakers announced to address the Hospital Innovations conference include:

Lord Carter of Coles; Simon Corben, head of Estates and Facilities at NHS Improvement; David Loughton, chief executive at The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust; Duane Passman, director of 3 Ts, Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust; Chris Davies, energy and environmental officer at Aneurin Bevan University Health Board; and Julian Amey, chief executive at IHEEM.

England. A co-ordinated programme to oversee the NHS-wide response to the recommendations of this review began in June 2015 and has, since September 2016, become the responsibility of a new operational productivity directorate within NHS Improvement (NHSI). The basis for Lord Carter’s recommendations was the analysis of metrics and benchmarks that identified significant unwarranted variation across organisations.

This was quantified as representing a £5 billion efficiency opportunity, or nine per cent of the £55.6 billion spend on acute hospitals in England.

In response to Carter, event organiser Step Exhibitions is working with some of the country’s leading NHS trusts and organisations to provide a programme of interactive workshops and CPD sessions. Trusts will talk about efficiencies made, while key E

The eve will brinnt togethe g r key de makers cision i n h o spital manag who areement teams respons collectively deliver ible for the y of servicespatient the UK in

LORD CARTER Lord Carter spoke last year at the launch of HI and promised to return in 2017 to give delegates and visitors an update on the Carter report one year on and present the Carter Innovation Award.

The review of operational efficiency in acute hospitals chaired by Lord Carter published its final report in February 2016, following nearly two years of work with trusts across

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Hospital Innovations

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BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Nurse call innovations helped by Carter Report Visitors to Hospital Innovations will see how Static Systems Group has used ‘out-of-thebox’ thinking to introduce new products that promote quality and efficiency across the patient pathway, whilst assisting trusts in optimising resources as recommended in the Carter Report.

Learn about FusionWare™ Tools; add-on features designed to work with the company’s ‘wired’ and ‘wireless’ nurse call solutions to improve life-critical alarm annunciation, analytical reporting, ward communication and flow management.

Static Systems is the UK’s leading provider of IP based nurse call solutions with systems in the majority of acute hospitals.

The company has recently taken ‘wireless’ nurse call to a new level with the introduction of its SmartSync™ technology that synchronises all devices to within two milliseconds. This enables meaningful product

improvements for patients, staff and engineering teams, lower power consumption and a reduction in life-time costs.

Faster call annunciation, RNIB endorsed patient hand units, convenience and freeing up staff time to attend patients are major user benefits.

For engineering teams SmartSync™ gives a truly wireless system with standard AA batteries powering devices - including over door and follow lamps. Two-way healthchecking improves system integrity. Integration with ‘wired’ nurse call systems and a site LAN is also possible.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.staticsystems.co.uk

HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

Hospital Innovations

Sponsored by

EVENT PREVIEW  organisations providing the latest technologies to help deliver greater efficiencies will both exhibit and present key initiatives.

We will also look at the Model Hospital with particular reference to digital and technology, how these are being utilised and how they support clinical processes and empower patients.

The first ‘Carter Innovation Award’ will be given to the trust or organisation which best represents the use of innovation to improve healthcare estates and infrastructure.

CONFERENCE The conference will open with the welcome and president’s address, delivered by IHEEM’s Julian Amey and Pete Sellars. This will then be followed by the aforementioned keynote presentation from Lord Carter of Coles, who will then present the first Lord Carter Innovation Award. Bernard Quinn, director of Improvement Programmes at NHS Improvement, will then provide an update on the work of the department and its push to implement the improvements and innovations needed for the NHS. The afternoon will begin with David Loughton’s session on ‘Improving Patient Pathways and Capacity with a Real-Time Centralised Patient Placement Model’. Chief executive of The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust, Loughton will explain the trailblazing initiatives that are transitioning the trust from an environment of siloed and disjoined patient pathways to a centralised model that optimises patient throughput, access and quality by providing staff with real-time location and status visibility to all in-patients, beds and equipment across the organisation.

Part of the session will involve input from Michael Gallup, president of TeleTracking Technologies, who are partnering the trust on the IT transformation programme.

In November 2015, Aneurin Bevan University Health Board commenced a trial with Thermal Compaction Group (TCG) to collect and process polypropylene instrument wrap from HSDU for recycling. This ‘world first’ project reverses the manufacturing process by applying carefully controlled heat to re‑melt the wrap and converts it into a liquid that will flow into a mould cavity to create a block of material that is dense and sterile.

The machine produces one 12kg block of sterilised polypropylene during each cycle with a volumetric reduction of 85 per cent.

The trust’s environmental personnel will present the ‘Rubbish Project’ discussion.

The day will finish with a session on ‘Efficiency in Workforce Development, hosted

by Duane Passman, director of 3 Ts, at Brighton & Sussex University Hospitals NHS Trust. The trust is pursuing a multi-dimensional approach to workforce transformation – creating coherent career development pathways for NHS staff, delivering sustainable pay cost reductions overall, and ensuring improvements in the quality and safety of patient care. This presentation will highlight the approach

The first ‘Carter Innovation Award’ will be given to the trust or organisation which best represents the use of innovation to improve healthcare estates and infrastructure being taken and how it is being developed and implemented in practice, identifying key learning points and the experiences of developing this programme in a dynamic and operationally-pressured environment whilst ensuring clinical leadership and engagement.

EFFICIENCY AND PRODUCTIVITY Following a summary of the first day, Simon Corben, head of Estates and Facilities for NHS Improvement, will present the keynote presentation.

Having developed repeatable rooms that improve outcomes whilst reducing the cost of construction, ProCure22 are now introducing an immersive and accessible virtual reality experience for engagement with clinicians, staff and patients before significant investment is made to improve the efficiency of early design consultation. David Kershaw, director of the Efficiency and Productivity Programme, will provide this session on ‘ProCure22 Repeatable Rooms Meet Virtual Reality!’.

The 12:15-12:45 conference session, led

by Laura Ellis-Philip, associate director of Informatics at Ashford and St Peter’s NHS Foundation Trust, will examine ‘How to Digitise Medical Records and Improve Organisational Sustainability’. This presentation will cover the journey Ashford and St. Peter’s have been on to procure and deploy a document management solution over the past few years, having been part of the Department of Health Southern Acute Programme. The benefits accruing from this are being realised now and are expected to reach £1.5 million per annum on a recurring basis by the end of 2017/ 18, comprising mainly of office space for clinical purposes and pay-cost savings in medical records. These will amount to 0.5 per cent of the trust’s income each and every year moving forward – showcasing sustainability in action.

To close the second day, Gordon Watt, business development manager at Doosan Babcock, will present on ‘Sustainability of De-Centralised Energy Systems in a Complex Estate Environment’. Decentralised energy is known to reduce transmission losses, lower carbon emissions and increase security of supply whilst delivering economic benefits and is thus seen as a cost effective route to supporting carbon targets.

It is no surprise; therefore, that the installation of cogeneration systems has risen

dramatically in recent years and is a trend that is set to continue bringing with it an increase in NOx and particulate emissions to inner city areas that may already suffer poorer air quality conditions and are known to have a negative impact on health. When considering such schemes, it is important to consider their integration within a complex estate. This presentation identifies the issues with using cogeneration and considers alternatives that facilitate decentralised opportunities whilst also addressing the wider impact of NOx and particulates to deliver a locally provided, sustainable, competitive and smarter energy choice.

MODELLING TO MAKE YOUR STP WORK Hospital Innovations will also feature a series of workshops for visitors and delegates. On the first day of the event, The Cumberland Initiative will deliver part of their Workshop Series: Modelling to make your STP work. As the Strategic Transformation Programmes take shape and move forward, they face the challenge of turning the high-level thinking into robust, repeatable, scalable services.

The Cumberland Initiative is running a one day workshop (11am – 4pm) to report the success of simulation, modelling and analytics in meeting these challenges and to provide how-to guidance for taking the next steps. As a workshop, there will be space for delegates to present their successes and challenges.

MENTAL HEALTH CHALLENGES Mental health services find themselves in every greater demand, while suffering from severe funding issues. This workshop will explore the challenges from a clinical perspective and show how better design of the services – and, eventually, the funding models – can be used to alleviate the immediate pressures and lead to affordable provision. Speakers include: Dr Tim Ojo, director of Quality at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, who will present, ‘Three things that are keeping Mental Health Providers and Commissioners awake at night’; and professor Sally McClean, of Ulster University, who will report on ‘Modelling to help manage dementia’. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.hospital-innovations.com

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Health Business Awards

EVENT REVIEW

Celebrating the success stories of our NHS The Health Business Awards provide the annual occassion to emphasise the hard work and excellence that makes the NHS the best health service in the world. Here, we look at 2016’s winners Presented by GP and well-known media doctor Sarah Jarvis, over 80 organisations were represented at the annual Health Business Awards. Here, Health Business lists the winning organisations and the success stories which led to their well-deserved achievements.

CLEANER AIR AND HEALTHIER PATIENTS Burton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were the recipients of the Estates and Facilities Innovation Award. Sponsored by Swallow Evacuation & Mobility Products, the Endoscopy Decontamination Services were heralded for improving patient safety and efficiency. The facilities for cleaning endoscopes at the trust are all purpose built for the space and have been designed with the input of staff, and consistently provide clinicians with safe, clean equipment.

The Environmental Practice Award, sponsored by STC, was presented to Barts Health NHS Trust for their Cleaner Air for East London project. Barts Health partnered with the Greater London Authority (GLA), its four London boroughs and behavioural change charity, Global Action Plan, to create a cross‑sector collaboration to take action to improve air quality and reduce exposure for those most at risk. The Cleaner Air for East London programme has delivered seven projects to tackle air pollution over three years.

Sponsored by ISS Healthcare, the Sustainable Hospital Award was presented to West London Mental Health NHS Trust for the Broadmoor Hospital redevelopment project, which is scheduled to open in 2017. The Broadmoor Hospital redevelopment project features ongoing ecology work which sees hundreds of animals relocated to safer environments in surrounding areas.

Elsewhere, the UK Renal Registry won the NHS Publicity Awards for their ‘Think Kidneys’ Campaign. ‘Think Kidneys’ comprises a website and series of posters and is endorsed by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society and displayed by GP surgeries and pharmacies across England. These carry simple messages to explain how kidneys function and tips to keep them working well, such as drinking enough water, as well as signs to look

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HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

out for which may point to a problem.

With staff shortages plaguing the majority of NHS trusts throughout 2016, the Healthcare Recruitment Award, sponsored by Interact Medical, was awarded to Guy’s & St Thomas’, which continues to use its successful recruitment formula of speed meeting with line managers and candidates to improve recruitment, now including a personality style assessment day as part of the process.

Sponsored by Assistive Partner, the winner of the NHS Finance Award was Bolton NHS Foundation Trust. As a pilot site for the Carter review of efficiency and productivity, the finance team at Bolton has overhauled its operations and recorded a much improved performance, emerging from financial adversity to record a surplus in just one year. Despite facing huge pressures the team made drastic improvements to the financial reporting schedule.

complaints at Heatherwood and Wexham Park fell by 62 per cent over the last year.

NHS Barnsley CCG and the RightCare Barnsley service were announced as the winning entry for the 2016 Clinical Commissioning Award.

Run in alliance with Barnsley CCG by Barnsley Hospital and South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, RightCare Barnsley provides a co-ordination service for GPs and other healthcare professionals. Over 1,000 patients have avoided being admitted into hospital over the past 10 months since the service started, which is staffed by both community and hospital nurses.

BUILDING MENTAL There r HEALTH EXCELLENCE e v are o ople For the Hospital Building e p 0 0 Award, sponsored 0 , 600 sy p e l

by CCube Solutions, i p e with K, and Guys & St Thomas NHS Foundation in the U ately 42 Trust picked upon m i x appro of epilepsy their second award t of the ceremony per cenaths are for their Cancer de able Treatment Centre. The prevent culmination of more than

PATIENT SAFETY PLANS There are over 600,000 people with epilepsy in the UK, and approximately 42 per cent of epilepsy deaths are preventable. The EpSMon app is the technology that gained the judge’s attention and won the Healthcare IT Award, sponsored

by Fujitsu. The app provides a seizure safety checklist to support people with epilepsy, allowing patients to monitor their risk for free to keep themselves safer. It has already demonstrated improved communication, safety and reduced mortality within patients.

Continuing the theme of patient safety, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust were the recipients of the Patient Safety Award, sponsored by Ascom. Since taking over Wexham Park Hospital in 2014, the trust has brought about a remarkable turnaround, with the CQC now recognising a strong patient safety culture at the hospital. Avoidable harm rates have been significantly reduced, a ‘Sign up to Safety’ campaign saw 500 staff make personal pledges to improve safety and formal

10 years of planning, the new 14-storey Cancer Centre brings the majority of hospitals cancer treatment and research under one roof. Six linear accelerators will be the first radiotherapy machines in Europe to treat patients above ground level, which aims to help patients feel more comfortable in natural light and air.

The EIP London Programme, run by The Office of London Clinical Commissioning Groups, prepares Early Intervention in Psychosis (EIP) teams and CCGs for the new standard introduced on 1 April 2016, and to ensure that more than 50 per cent of people across London are commencing NICE‑concordant treatment within two weeks of referral. The success of the programme, recognised through the Office of London Clinical Commissioning Groups winning of the Innovation in Mental Health Award, requires frontline staff and senior level buy‑in, meaning EI teams are reporting

higher numbers of referrals and investment into EI teams has grown across London.

Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust were the winners of the Hospital Cleaning Award in recognition of the consistently high standards maintained by the cleaning and housekeeping department.

LOGISTICAL PROCEDURES The Transport & Logistics Award, sponsored

by The British Parking Association was awarded to NHS Blood and Transplant for their transport management system. NHS Blood and Transport collects blood from more than 3,000 donation venues, delivers it to 15 holding units and then transports shipments on demand to every NHS trust in England and North Wales.

Yorkshire Ambulance Service NHS Trust, South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue, South Yorkshire Police were awarded the NHS Collaboration Award. The Local Intervention and Falls Episodes (LIFE) team attend lower priority incidents in Sheffield, seeing fire and police staff visit hundreds of homes in the city to reduce fire risk in properties, improve security and help people who have fallen.

The winner of the Air Ambulance Service Award was London Air Ambulance, recognised for its use of a pioneering balloon procedure known as REBOA (Resuscitative Endovascular Balloon Occlusion of the Aorta), to prevent a road crash victim

bleeding to death. It was only the second time the procedure had been carried out on the roadside and the patient survived.

SERVING COST SAVING FOOD Musgrove Park has been developing best practice initiatives in areas such as food waste reduction, and making cost savings of £120,000 per year without any loss in food quality. For that reason, Taunton & Somerset NHS Trust were awarded the Hospital Catering Award. Food waste has been reduced from 21 per cent to five per cent through effective monitoring of patients’ needs and bed turnover.

The Patient Data Award was won by the Royal Cornwall Hospital Trust. RADAR (RCHT Analysis Data and Reporting) has been in development for the last eighteen months at the trust, producing live reports, informing the patient flow team and on‑call managers and driving decision making based on the most up to date information.

The Hospital Procurement Award was presented to South West London Pathology, for the South West London Pathology (SWLP) joint venture. Three trusts, Croydon Health Services NHS Trust, Kingston Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, have delivered a single, integrated, NHS-led pathology service which caters for 3.5 million people.

Ascom wins award for best communications systems ‘This is a great concept, providing direct-to-nurse communication for patients and other staff’, commented judges. Ascom’s innovative communication solutions at NHS Royal Free Chase Farm hospital, Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow and Benenden Hospital demonstrate Ascom’s unique approach to putting health delivery into the hands of caregivers on the move.

John McGarrity, technical manager, Med. Physics at QEH, Glasgow stated: “It was clear right from the start that we needed this technology. I feel that staff have embraced it very quickly. It’s not our system, it belongs to the staff, and that’s how they want it to operate.”

The solution integrates Internet Protocol nurse call systems with patient monitors and monitoring alert systems. Messages, calls, alerts and requests are made mobile – going to clinicians’

wireless devices such as the Ascom Myco. The BBH Awards judges were particularly impressed by the solutions’ speech capabilities and their ability to directly link clinicians and patients. With single room environments growing in popularity within the healthcare sector, this enhancement is crucial to improving staff productivity, total communications and patient privacy.

Check out the full release at: http://content.yudu.com/web/ fiqy/0A3zyjg/bbhcnov16/flash/ resources/index.htm?dm_ i=8EU,4N9MG,FQ5Y7V,HBG78,1 FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: +41 41 544 78 00 www.ascom.com

The East Lancashire Hospitals Trust was announced as the successful nomination in the Hospital Security Award for the secure storage system developed in partnership with a local company, for patient’s valuables.

The drawer has been designed as part of the patient’s bedside cabinet, which can only be locked and unlocked using a Radio Frequency ID wristband, which is programmed on the patient’s arrival.

Health Business Awards

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT And finally, the stand out category of the day was rightly left to last and was received well from all of those in attendance. For the 2016 Health Business Awards, the Outstanding Achievement in Healthcare Award was handed to Hinchingbrooke Health Care NHS Trust.

After returning to NHS management on 1 April 2015 after a period in private control, Hinchingbrooke Hospital is out of special measures, with the latest Care Quality Commission report from August 2016 now rating all of the trusts’ services as Good.

As well as several areas of outstanding practice, the latest patient survey reports show improvements in food quality.

A merger with Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals is planned for April 2017. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.hbawards.co.uk

Bespoke mobility solutions People with different disabilities require different solutions and EVACCESS understands that one design does not fit all!

EVACCESS is a specialist in stair climbers and solutions that assist in moving people up and down stairs.

A key area that EVACCESS can assist you with, is getting people back to their homes.

Its stair climbers can negotiate outside and inside steps and support up to 230kg.

EVACCESS takes into consideration the type of stairs and landings, as these affect the evacuation chair or stair climbers that can be used. Other considerations EVACCESS takes into account include: is the person in a wheelchair, if yes, then should they transfer?; and what happens when they are outside without their wheelchair?

Fire evacuation in isolation doesn’t cover access and egress.

All should be equally considered.

EVACCESS offers a range of portable products that are primarily powered and therefore go both up and down stairs.

The mobility products also reduce manual handling by not asking people to carry this in need of assistance or goods up and down stairs.

EVACCESS solutions are available for people who are in wheelchairs or people with limited mobility, with products engineered to operate on spiral, straight and flared stairs.

EVACCESS also supplies training and servicing of evacuation chairs and stair climbers. Get in contact for expert and impartial advice.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01213669275 www.evaccess.uk

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Advertisement Feature

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

DIABETES UK PREVIEW

MULTIPLYING THE BENEFITS OF HEALTHCARE TECHNOLOGY When a consultant is able to access detailed records about a diabetes patient, they don’t need to spend valuable contact time asking the patient to remember their complex medical history, changing drug regimes and adverse reactions – they only have limited time with each patient The integration of automated systems is now saving healthcare professionals (HCPs) from having to re-key information between departmental systems, removing paper based patient records and negating the need for them to have to print documents such as letters – helping to achieve the Five Year Forward View’s promise of a paperless NHS by 2020.

The time saved is also being spent providing additional healthcare services and seeing more patients.

REMOVING SILOS Separate deployments of technology solve individual problems but joining systems together generates far greater value.

Diamond, Hicom’s diabetes patient management system, allows NHS Trusts to capture records of patients, analyse progress and monitor improvements in well-being, not only for an individual but for the whole cohort of patients.

On its own merit, this is a significant benefit.

Furthermore, Diamond has built-in audit tools that allow clinical units to easily and swiftly export and submit data to the National Diabetes Audit (NDA), which aggregates and reports on results at a national level.

This gives visibility to the wider healthcare community and allows each unit to compare their performance against that of others.

In addition, submissions to support the application for funding under the Best Practice Tariff (BPT) allow each unit to demonstrate mandated levels of patient contact and secure funding for their unit that creates a virtuous circle – more funding helps increase resource

levels and improves patient care, which in turn attracts further funding. So far so good.

However, if Diamond is linked to the hospital Patient Administration System (PAS) then significant time savings and higher levels of accuracy can be achieved. This is a result of staff no longer having to re-enter patient demographic and appointment data. Crucially, clerical overhead is reduced, meaning other resources can be deployed from within the existing budget. The same goes for integration with the hospital pathology system – sample results come straight from the pathology system, quickly, accurately and with no need for human interaction and therefore potential for error is eliminated.

This is already happening for the vast majority of Diamond customers, with additional interfaces to digital dictation and document management solutions augmenting the capability of the core system.

Similarly, Hicom’s hosted paediatric diabetes patient management system, Twinkle, achieves the same levels of integration.

From local to national level When NHS Trusts extend what is happening at a local level and look at the bigger picture, they can see how information for a country looks, and how one segment of a patient’s record fits into their entire health record.

For example, in July 2013, Health and Social Care (HSC) in Northern Ireland introduced the Northern Ireland Electronic Care Record (NIECR), a digital care record that brings together key information from health and social care records from throughout Northern Ireland in a single, secure computer system.

The NIECR has over 24,000 registered users and around 14,000 are active in any given week. Since October 2015, interfaces from Hicom have enabled NIECR to be populated with data captured through the diabetes information management systems of the five trusts that deliver healthcare services in Northern Ireland, which incorporate Twinkle and Diamond records. Northern Ireland HSC trusts have already received positive feedback from across both primary and secondary care who have been using the electronic care record.

In February 2015, a survey of 2,300 respondents was conducted and found that 31.5 per cent of users had gained 30 minutes a day since using the integrated system, in addition to the benefits of shared decision making.

CONNECTING THE DOTS Straight through processing has been a concept in the finance sector since the 1990s and applies well in healthcare too. The model of recording, reporting on and processing all the data required to run a clinic has been in operation in the private healthcare arena for at least ten years. Hicom has been working with world class organisations in the UK and abroad on such systems, which handle scheduling, resource management and rostering, clinical coding, all the way through to patient surveys and billing.

High levels of integration with medical devices mean that test results and reports are instantly available for clinicians to review in real time, improving both patient flow and satisfaction by reducing the need for follow up appointments. Bracketed by e-referrals at inception and automated e-claims after treatment has finished, Hicom’s Enterprise solutions deliver maximum efficiency.

When investment is made in carefully connected and coordinated IT infrastructure, NHS trusts will see substantial value for both staff and patients. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.hicom.co.uk

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EVENT PREVIEW

Diabetes UK

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Knowing your opposition – fighting diabetes Health Business looks ahead to the first day of conference sessions at the Diabetes UK Professional Conference, taking place on 8-10 March The Diabetes UK Professional Conference returns to Manchester Central next month, expecting over 3,100 attendees from a wide range of backgrounds, including: clinical scientists, researchers, diabetes specialist nurses, GPs, dietitians, medical students, plus representatives from charities and the pharmaceutical sector. Celebrating over 20 years of successful events, the show organisers have identified 10 reasons to attend the show. Delegates can develop their knowledge and be inspired by a wide range of inspiring speakers in the three‑day, seven-track programme designed by experts in diabetes, and can share their work with the varied audience.

CONFERENCE SESSIONS The Named Lectures form an integral part of the Diabetes UK Professional Conference.

Confirmed speakers nominated to give the 2017 Named Lectures include: Andrew Boulton, professor of Medicine, University of Manchester, for the Banting Memorial Lecture; Solomon Tesfaye, endocrinologist at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals, for the Arnold Bloom Lecture; Noel Morgan, director of the Institute of Biomedical & Clinical Science, University of Exeter Medical School, for the Dorothy Hodgkin Lecture; Lindsay Oliver, consultant dietitian in Diabetes Care, for the Janet Kinson Lecture; Victor Gault, professor of Experimental Medicine, Ulster University, for the RD Lawrence Lecture: the Derby Integrated Diabetes Team for the Mary MacKinnon Lecture; and Nita Forouhi, programme leader for Nutritional Epidemiology at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, for the Rank Nutrition Lecture.

On the opening day of the conference, Wednesday 8 March, the opening plenary will be on the why, how and wow of promoting physical activity in diabetes. In this session Professor Michael Riddell, co-founder of the Physical Activity and Diabetes Unit, will provide an overview of how exercise changes various metabolic energy systems that impact Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes.

Dr Ian Gallen, consultant physician and endocrinologist at Royal Berkshire Foundation Trust, will then cover how increasing

physical activity can improve health and well-being, but looking at why people with Type 1 diabetes frequently do not achieve recommended levels of physical activity. Finally, professional athlete Tom Neal will talk about his life with diabetes and how it affects him and his sports.

Nita Forouhi will then host the Rank Nutrition Lecture in honour of Harry Keen, by discussing ‘Dietary solutions for diabetes prevention: challenges, opportunities and new horizons’. This lecture traces the efforts to provide robust scientific evidence for optimal dietary guidance for the prevention of Type 2 diabetes amid conflicting research findings.

The first morning will also investigate ‘The efficacy, cost and benefits of the newer injectables in diabetes management’.

Philip Newland-Jones, advanced specialist pharmacist practitioner at University Hospital Southampton, will cover the evidence relating to newer injectables and insulins.

Succeeding this, consultant physician David Levy will look at new insulins and whether they have delivered meaningful benefits to people with diabetes? David will focus mainly on Type 1

The last few y e a rs h exciting ave been time people with di s for abetes with ma n y ne technol ogies b w launche eing d

diabetes, which has most of the evidence: country‑wide registry and trial data, especially on the newer long-acting analogues.

Interventions to tackle obesity are primarily educational in nature, focusing on the need to ‘eat less, move more’. Yet many people adopt the assumption that we eat only when we are hungry. In our food abundant environments, we eat to solve problems – stress, feeling down, wanting distraction, tiredness, difficulty resisting, to bond, celebrate, to reward ourselves. What is vastly under recognised, is that the ability to achieve and maintain a healthy weight requires psychological skills to overcome ‘non-hunger’ eating.

This ‘Non-hunger eating’ workshop will provide an introduction to the Eating Blueprint approach to weight change conversations, including an opportunity to try out five skills that you can use in time‑limited consultations. Presented in a friendly, interactive way, participants will leave with ‘can do’ tips for their very next consultation.

‘Management of diabetes in severe mental illness’ will hear from Hermione Price, consultant diabetologist at the Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust, on the well recognised association between diabetes and mental illness and how this co‑morbidity leads to worse outcomes for both conditions. Hermione’s address will be E

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

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Come see us at Stand C50 TM

Simple, Fast, Capillary Blood Analyser for Primary Care Immediate test results during the patient visit Glycaemic control

• HbA1c • Glucose • Estimated Average Glucose • Ketone

Lipids/Cardiac risk

• Total, HDL, LDL Cholesterol • Non-HDL Cholesterol • Cholesterol/HDL Ratio • Triglycerides

Kidney function

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All blood tests use a capillary fingerstick sample Reduces patient follow-up visits and costs Compact, point-of-care size (20.3 cm wide) x (30.6 cm high) (38.1 cm deep)

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EVENT PREVIEW  followed by Miranda Rosenthal, consultant at the Royal Free London, who will look at the presentation of eating disorders in diabetes, clinical implications and some thoughts on best practice surrounding this.

NEW TECHNOLOGIES The last few years have been exciting times for people with diabetes and their supporting healthcare professionals with many new technologies being launched, including more sophisticated pump technologies, glucose sensing, and emerging closed loop systems. Gerry Rayman, a consultant at Ipswich Hospital, will briefly discuss these technologies in relationship to their impact on the future development of secondary care diabetes services and the impact of these technologies on inpatients diabetes care.

Nick Oliver, professor of Metabolism at Imperial College, will then review the use of emerging technologies to support diabetes self-management, including novel glucose monitoring devices, closed loop hormone delivery, artificial intelligence, smartphone apps and diabetes prevention strategies. Additionally, Melissa Holloway, chief adviser of the INPUT Patient Advocacy, will cover how the diabetes technology landscape is evolving faster than ever before, looking at how professionals and patients can work together to achieve the best outcomes.

To close the first day, Paru King of the Derby Integrated Diabetes Team, will present the Mary MacKinnon Lecture. This lecture will describe how the team worked across organisational boundaries, putting the user at the centre of their care. L

A preview of the full three day conference is available on the Health Business website: www.healthbusinessuk.net/ FURTHER INFORMATION www.diabetes.org.uk/diabetes-uk-professional-conference

Developing and manufacturing advanced blood testing analysers

Nova Biomedical develops, manufactures and sells advanced technology blood testing analysers based on electrochemical and optical measuring techniques.

The company’s analysers include Allegro™ which is a compact, point-of-care (POC) analyser which has a comprehensive test menu for monitoring glycemic control and diabetes risk factors. Tests include HbA1c, glucose, ketone, astimated avg glucose, lipid panel and kidney function.

Capillary sampling is easily performed, eliminating the need for venipunctures,

Diabetes UK

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

a trained phlebotomist, blood drawing tubes and needles.

The biosensor used for the glucose test is Nova StatStrip which has been found by the US FDA to be the only glucose test strip accurate enough for use on critically ill patients. It is also the only glucose test strip technology that has no known clinical interferences and measures and corrects for variations of haematocrit.

For more information about Nova Biomedical, please visit the website.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.novabio.us/uk info@novabiomedical.co.uk

Safety for medical staff and comfort for patients

HTL-STREFA is the world’s leading manufacturer and exporter of single-use medical devices: safety lancets, pen needles, safety pen needles, personal lancets and lancing device.

Our modern manufacturing process and nearly 20 years of experience on the global market allows us to successfully ensure safety and convenience of patients and healthcare professionals.

Meet our team and find out more about our products:

HTL-STREFA - booth G48 Diabetes UK Professional Conference 8-10 March 2017 Manchester Central Convention Complex www.htl-strefa.com

HTL-STREFA is a world leading company that develops and manufactures single use medical devices. The company’s modern manufacturing process and many years of experience on the global market allows it to successfully ensure safety and convenience. HTLSTREFA employs a continual improvement strategy to analyse and update products and implementing improvements to meet evolving needs of both patients and healthcare professionals. It aims to fulfil the most restrictive hygienic and sterility standards. Design of the company’s products is defined by ergonomics, simplicity and reliability.

HTL-STREFA is focused on strategic manufacturing for top multinational medical corporations, the firm also sells it own products as HTL-STREFA brand.

HTL-STREFA’s product categories include: the sterile, single-use Pen

Needles which is intended to be used with a pen injector device for the subcutaneous injection of insulin, which are commonly used by people with diabetes who often require multiple daily insulin; Safety Lancets, which are single-use devices for capillary blood sampling and an integral component to the sharps-injury prevention programs; and Personal Lancets, which are single-use plastic moulded needles required in daily diabetes management programs used with the lancing device for collecting blood samples.

For further information visit the HTL-STREFA website.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.htl-strefa.com

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Ageing Written by Chris Finnegan, communications manager, Design Council

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Designing a better ageing experience The Design Council’s Chris Finnegan explains how an innovative new partnership between health and social care leaders, social entrepreneurs and the public could relieve pressure on stretched services and improve the experience of later life for everyone Today, for the first time in history, Britain’s over-65s outnumber people under the age of 16. What’s more, it’s predicted that almost half of the adult population will be over the age of 50 by 2020. It’s not just that people are living longer; people are living longer with increasingly complex health conditions.

This creates pressure on an already stretched health and social care system, while the number of people of working age will stagnate or shrink, causing gaps in the job market and further pressure on public finances. In short, one of the triumphs of the previous century – a vastly improved life expectancy – looks set to be one of the great challenges of this one.

Established more than 70 years ago to improve the industrial output of Britain, much of what Design Council now does is centred on how design can

help to improve people’s health and well-being. Transform Ageing is Design Council’s new, cross-sector initiative. It brings together people in later life, social entrepreneurs and health and social care leaders to define, develop and deliver innovative new solutions that support the needs and aspirations of people in later life. Ultimately, its goal is to help design a better experience of ageing, for everyone.

To meet this challenge, we need to broaden the notion of ‘care’. It’s a challenge of wider collaboration between individuals and carers, family and friends, neighbours, volunteers and professionals.

People who arethe to closest ur ageing no issues i ities are often y n commuaced to identif best pl challenges e the ed to b e n t a h t ed address

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New solutions are required to support the delivery of effective products and services that meet people’s needs and tackle causes rather than symptoms. We must create a system that is more personalised, more connected and, above all, more preventative. This more radical approach requires real imagination.

TRANSFORM AGEING Last summer, the Big Lottery Fund recognised the potential in our ambition, and the Transform Ageing programme was awarded £3.65 million under its Accelerating Ideas programme to be delivered in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset.

Since then, Design Council has worked alongside UnLtd, the South West Academic Health Science Network and the Centre for Ageing Better to launch the programme in Cornwall, Devon and Somerset.

Together, this partnership brings unique expertise and a collective track record in supporting community-led responses to ageing challenges. We are now recruiting delivery organisations in those localities to get the programme off the ground, directly connecting with local people to help shape and design solutions.

For innovation to take root, we need the belief that change is possible and the confidence to commit to a process. The success of this programme depends on the creativity of individuals to inspire change, determination of local communities to embrace change, and recognition from health and social care leaders that change is healthy, necessary and sustainable.

We hope that Transform Ageing will inspire creative ideas, ranging from new services, products, environments – or perhaps something else entirely. Anything that could make a real and lasting difference to the experience of later life will be considered.

WHY DESIGN? In 2014, we saw the proposal to appoint a head of design in every UK government department and a chief user officer on all large government infrastructure projects. The use of strategic design is becoming intrinsically linked with good foresight and managerial skills.

Through first-class research, collaborative working and rigorous design, Transform Ageing will help local communities to influence how their care needs are handled.

By directly engaging with local people, we can identify the

Ageing

key health and social care challenges they face. In turn, care leaders and social entrepreneurs can combine to generate tangible, creative and lasting solutions to meet the needs of the south-west. These, we hope, can then be adapted and rolled out elsewhere in the UK – and even beyond.

We must start by breaking down the barriers between different stakeholder groups and involving everyone from the outset. This creates collaborative environments that encourage a user-led approach. Not least, we must help health and social care leaders find opportunities to try new ideas while managing risk, and help them to understand the core design principle that ‘iteration’ does not necessarily mean ‘failure’.

The programme has been welcomed by health and social care leaders as an important step in improving services for people in later life.

Professor Paul Burstow, former Minister of State for Care, said: “Transform Ageing offers a practical approach to making communities in the south-west more age‑ready. Using design innovation that starts with the experience of people in their later lives and taps into the energy of social entrepreneurs and the insight of health and local government to devise practical solutions.

“Above all, this programme has the potential to deliver new, scalable and sustainable solutions that meet the needs and aspirations of our ageing communities across the UK. It could make a real difference to people in their later lives.”

People are living longer with increasingly complex health conditions. One of the triumphs of the previous century – a vastly improved life expectancy – looks set to be one of the great challenges of this one STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS AND PREVENTATIVE SERVICES It’s essential to support commissioners to feel more confident in incorporating new services and interventions into mainstream care supply chains, and social entrepreneurs to scale their solutions and provide evidence of their impact to enable them to be commissioned. In order to do this, local communities, individuals, carers, family, friends and professionals in each of these regions need to be at the heart of the process.

People who are closest to the issues faced in our ageing communities are often best placed to identify the challenges that need to be addressed.

By reframing these challenges, we hope to identify the specific challenges and support innovative solutions to help provide everyone with healthier and active later lives.

It’s Transform Ageing’s job to work with local organisations to make that happen.

That’s why the partnership’s first steps are to recruit up to four delivery organisations (or consortia of organisations). Ideally, we will recruit one each in Cornwall, Somerset,

north-east and west Devon, and south Devon.

Over the coming months, the partnership will be engaging local health and social care leaders, VCSE organisations, social entrepreneurs and people in later life and their support networks to become involved in the programme. We are looking for committed groups and individuals who would like to support new thinking and approaches develop new and exciting products and services that will transform people’s experience of later life.

Time is of the essence. We want the best health and social care innovations, services and products to reach people in later life as quickly as possible. Working together, we can achieve just that. Our vision is that by creating services better aligned to real-life needs and issues, everyone’s experience of ageing will be improved. L

If you would like to find out more about Transform Ageing or get involved, contact transformageing@designcouncil.org.uk FURTHER INFORMATION www.designcouncil.org.uk

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Catering

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

The UK’s leading independent supplier of catering equipment to the hospitality industry and public sector The pressures of limited time, overstreched budgets and mounting hygiene standards can make the task of keeping healthcare facilities fully stocked increasingly laborious. From ensuring patients’ rooms and public spaces are kept clean to providing accessible and enjoyable catering experiences for patients and guests alike, the list of required products needed each day is seemingly endless. From cleaning and janitorial equipment to specialised crockery and disposable ranges, Alliance has great value products suitable for maintaining a pleasant environment which meets clinical standards in facilities of all sizes.

With a deep working knowledge of the priorities of residential care homes and nursing facilities alike, Alliance can offer exceptional expertise in order to enable health care providers to make the best product selection for their facility. Searching for appropriate products can be a time consuming and costly endeavour. With over 25,000 products from leading brands to choose from, Alliance has established itself

as one of the market leaders for non-food supplies to the healthcare industry. The company can provide efficient and reliable complete solutions to enable healthcare providers to maintain a patient focus and achieve clinical excellence. In addition to its expansive catalogue of universal products, it stocks a range of specialised products developed with the healthcare sector in mind including easy grip cutlery, simple measures mugs and clinical level cleaning supplies.

Striving to offer more sustainable solutions,

Alliance also stocks a range of affordable environmentally friendly alternatives in product categories from catering disposables to chemicals. The firm is consistently looking to bring the most useful innovation to the healthcare market, prioritising both the health of your people and the environment in its distribution.

Alliance can provide you with products which benefit maintenance staff, medical professionals and patients alike.

Check out the website for the best range and value for cleaning chemicals, to ensure that your healthcare facility is fully stocked for clinical excellence. With a network of 12 regional depots throughout the UK and a fleet of specialised delivery vehicles, Alliance can provide exceptional quality, service and expertise.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0844 499 4300 hello@allianceonline.co.uk www.allianceonline.co.uk

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We aim to improve the efficiency of the equipment, minimise service interruptions, and empower you with real-time quality information collated via our asset & service management system.

Service & Maintenance of Catering Equipment First In Service Ltd | Windsor Industrial Estate | Rupert Street | Birmigham | West Midlands | B7 4PR 24 Hour Help Desk: (0121) 333 3301 | WWW.FIRSTINSERVICE.CO.UK | E-mail: sales@firstinservice.co.uk

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FOOD STANDARDS

Catering

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

Failing food standards and Hunt’s failed plan Department of Health data released in January shows that Jeremy Hunt’s rules for food served to NHS patients are being ignored with hospitals failing to implement the Health Secretary’s key improvements. Health Business reports The food served in hospitals is a vital part of patient care. It is essential that patients receive the right nutrition and hydration; it can help them recover faster and is an important aspect of the overall care experience. While improvements are being made across the country in the provision and standards of catering in hospitals, there is a definite understanding that more can be done to raise the quality of food available.

In August 2014, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt revealed a demanding set of new mandatory standards that would ensure that hospitals provided their patients with better quality and healthier food, with failing to do so opening up the risk of being fined or losing vital NHS contracts. Dianne Jeffrey, chairwoman of Age UK, who led the standards panel Hunt set up to investigate the problem, said that while hospitals are not ‘five-star restaurants, it’s important that food and drink is tasty, nutritious and thoughtfully presented so that people can eat as well as possible’.

The five standards, which Hunt claimed were legally-binding on all providers of NHS care but were doubted at the time, included plans to ensure staff identify patients who are malnourished and provide an individual food plan according to their needs, as well as securing protected mealtimes and ensuring hospital canteens comply with recommendations on salt, fat and sugar.

Additionally, Hunt imposed that every hospital in England will be ranked, on the NHS Choices for seven different aspects

of their approach to food, including the quality and choice of food, choice of breakfast, availability of fresh fruit and the patient’s ability to eat between meals.

COMPLIANCE OR DEFIANCE However, January 2017 saw the publication of a Department of Health report, Compliance with hospital food standards in the NHS Two years on: a review of progress since the Hospital Food Standards Panel report in 2014, which showed that almost half of English hospitals have failed to implement key improvements in the two and a half years following Hunt’s new rules – indicating that the legally binding duties were an empty threat, and were more voluntary than contractual.

The report’s findings indicated that half of hospitals do not meet the British Dietetic Association’s dietician guidelines, despite the government saying that the standards should be mandatory. Despite the previous focus on identifying patients who are malnourished, it appears that 30 per cent of patients are at real risk of malnutrition in hospitals. Only half of hospitals screened every patient for signs that they were struggling to get enough to eat.

Furthermore, 48 per cent of hospitals do not meet Government Buying Standards that give hospitals basic standards to meet on food quality, nutrition, environmental sustainability and animal welfare, standards which the government maintains should be mandatory.

Despite ‘more hospitals than ever’ having a food and drink strategy that ‘bodes well for the future’, the ‘Compliance with hospital food

The report’s fin indicate dings of hosp d that half it meet th als do not Dietetic e British Assoc dieticia iation’s guidelin n es

standards in the NHS’ report also revealed that 25 per cent of hospitals in England have failed to implement a food and drink strategy.

WIDESPREAD FAILURE Katherine Button, from the Campaign for Better Hospital Food, said that the report emphasised the ‘widespread failure’ to drive up food standards in hospitals.

She said: “The situation in hospital food standards is diabolical. When the hospital food standards were brought in two years ago, we were promised that these hospital food standards were legally binding. With half of hospitals still not meeting even the basic standards, we can now see that this is demonstrably not the case. This means that sick children in hospital wards are not getting the same quality of food that they are legally required to be fed at school when they are well. Enough is enough – we need equal legal protections for hospital food, like the protections that exist for food in schools and prisons.”

Joanna Lewis, policy director at Food for Life, said: “The number one ask from the 2014 Hospital Food Standards Panel was that all NHS trusts had to have a food and drink strategy. This review says that most hospitals have now written a strategy – but no one is asking if these are driving change and how ambitious that change is?

“Food for Life works with leading NHS trusts to help them become beacons of good food, so that patients, staff and patients will see that their hospital is ‘walking the talk’.

Nothing less will do if the NHS is to deliver Chief Executive Simon Steven’s promised ‘radical upgrade in prevention and public health’ and save itself from bankruptcy.” L FURTHER INFORMATION tinyurl.com/zuofpof

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Leading UK manufacturer and supplier of sustainable solutions for busy healthcare environments.

Tel: 01253 600415 e-mail: ps@glasdon-uk.co.uk www.glasdon.com

ACCREDITATION

Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust were one of the first recipients of the Professionalism in Parking Accreditation for high standard parking in a hospital setting.

The British Parking Association share their experiences The British Parking Association (BPA) is dedicated to making parking a recognised profession and raising standards in parking management and operations. The Professionalism in Parking Accreditation (PiPA) is an accreditation programme supported by the Department of Health and is now available for organisations to work towards, focusing on healthcare parking.

NHS trusts and other healthcare providers work tirelessly to deliver an optimal level of clinical care. For many healthcare organisations, that effort is reflected in their provision of parking. This dedication is exemplary, and it is high time that it was recognised. PiPA will go one step further than recognition: it will celebrate professionalism in healthcare parking.

The BPA has launched PiPA in healthcare parking precisely

because this sector is so important. No one enjoys a visit to a hospital or a doctor’s surgery. If someone does make that visit, it is generally because they are ill. Why, on top of that, should they feel stressed about parking?

How does it help anyone if a doctor, nurse or surgeon is also stressed about parking?

A professional organisation will take steps to help minimise anxiety in its car parks.

Accredited healthcare providers will become nationally-recognised role-models for parking professionalism and excellence.

PiPA will help raise levels of customer service for patients, visitors and staff, and it will recognise the high standards that already exist. It will help increase patient, visitor and staff satisfaction and ease their worries about parking, and improve the reputation of NHS trusts and other healthcare

Th British e Associa Parking launche tion has healthc d PiPA in a precise re parking ly this sec because to importar is so nt

providers, helping to counteract adverse publicity in the media.

PiPA builds upon the BPA’s voluntary Healthcare Parking Charter, developed by the BPA in conjunction with other stakeholders, and will enable hospitals to work towards a nationally accredited standard for their parking services.

CHARGING FOR PARKING When parking charges were abolished in hospitals in Scotland and Wales, patient accessibility didn’t improve; instead nearly all the spaces were taken up by commuters and staff to the detriment of visitors and patients.

And because demand isn’t managed properly it spilled onto yellow lines, grass verges and nearby residential streets. In some cases, bus companies actually refused to offer a service because they couldn’t get through. So it seemed like a good idea, but those that relied on public transport, those very people that MPs champion for, ended up the hardest hit.

In reality, there’s no such thing as a free parking place – somebody is paying for it.

This is true everywhere: in town centres, at the beach, in the countryside and, at the hospital. Like most NHS medical services, some car parks may be free at the point of use but someone, somewhere is paying for their upkeep and maintenance. If they are patrolled to keep them safe someone is paying for that too. Your so-called free parking is always paid for – by someone else. Is that fair?

The BPA believes it is wrong that healthcare budgets should be used to provide parking facilities for those who choose to drive to hospital. Additionally, is free parking fair on those who arrive by public transport and continue to pay? We E

Written by British Parking Association

Creating parking management standards

Parking

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

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BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

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05/01/2017 15:37

Parking

ACCREDITATION

 strongly believe that healthcare budgets should be used to provide healthcare, and that car‑borne visitors should pay for this service.

We also believe there should be exceptions where long term or vulnerable patients should receive discounted or free parking.

HIGH STANDARD PARKING IN A HOSPITAL SETTING The BPA’s Healthcare Parking special interest group allows the sharing of knowledge and best practice, as well as allowing campaigning for better recognition of the services provided and the need for them to be properly funded.

Keith Fowler is chair of the group and head of facilities services at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, one of the first recipients of PiPA, and recognises the importance of delivering a high standard of parking in an acute hospital setting.

He said: “A year has now passed in my role as chair of the BPA’s Healthcare Special Interest Group (SIG) where I am also elected to serve on the BPA Council of Representatives to ensure that the views and concerns of members from NHS trusts are put forward.

“The group was formed almost five years ago to be a focal point for members of the BPA who are involved in managing parking at healthcare sites. The group meets three times per year at different locations around the UK, providing valuable opportunities for learning, sharing good practice and networking.

“Managing parking alone can be immensely challenging and at times rather contentious, even more so at hospitals, with space at a premium and sensitivity to the nature of environment bringing some unique issues.

“The priority for car parking staff is to ensure the access and egress routes are clear enabling emergency access, but to also keep traffic flowing, ensure it is appropriately directed and managing parking according to

The British Parking Association believes that it is wrong that healthcare budgets should be used to provide parking facilities for those who choose to drive to hospital the designation of area. Car park staff and the facilities are invariably the first experience patients and visitors have of the organisation, and it is important that initial interaction is positive. My team have experienced a variety of situations, and the unexpected is often a regular occurrence. The staff must have an exceptional level of site knowledge, access routes to wards and departments with clear understanding of support options to reach an appointment on time. In an age where automation of services is increasing, the day of switchboard staff being the focal point of knowledge is slowing moving to the car parking teams on the ground.

“Parking is always at a premium, and initiatives such as park and ride schemes with local authorities and transport providers is often a positive step in allocating visitors to the most appropriate choices, single occupancy journeys create unwanted demand and forewarning visitors is essential for a smooth day’s parking. Staff parking is often a cause of anxiety with colleagues wishing to park on site and arrive at work, on time. The juggling of priorities is therefore a skill the parking officer must apply to decisions made. Clinical services cannot be delayed, but patients must be ready at stated times for appointments. As important initiatives such as park and ride allow planned visiting to alleviate site demand, so too must the parking of staff working regular office hours, with minimal clinical input be considered for alternative options to reduce pressure.

“These clashes of priority mean that a robust policy for parking must be in place applying an overall approach to the management of parking facilities, traffic management and enforcement. Organisations and parking managers have a responsibility to ensure what facilities are available, are open to those that require them most to reduce operational pressures of parking with effective management plans, infrastructure and resource. The parking service that allocates sensibly to essential users, provides usable options in partnership frameworks for operational and planned activity will certainly be working towards better parking services, with the parking officer at the coal face enabling the sound plans of parking policy are played out.”

“As chair, one of my aims is to put the ‘positive into parking’ within healthcare.

I’ve found the topic of parking is often met with a fairly dour response within the NHS, but from my own experiences here at Northern Lincolnshire and Goole this doesn’t have to be the case. I firmly believe if you can get your parking policy right then good things follow. See parking as a service rather than a burden, strive for excellence and go the extra mile. Your customers will notice the difference and in turn you may find your attitude and approach to parking management changes.” L FURTHER INFORMATION www.britishparking.co.uk

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Choosing Parking Management is smart.

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Conferences & Events

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

CONFERENCES & EVENTS

Located just two miles from Llandudno Junction railway station (three hours direct London Euston) and motorway network, Bodysgallen hall and spa, in north Wales, is well placed for business meetings and retreats.

Bodysgallen Hall is a Grade 1 listed 17th century hall set in 200 acres of private parkland, with spectacular views over award-winning gardens to Snowdonia, and provides an exclusive environment in which privacy is assured.

The discerning business traveller can rely on receiving a professional service from an experienced team, with the executive services and facilities they require, as well as the health and fitness activities they enjoy.

Next to the Hall is the restored 18th century stable block skilfully converted into a split level building accommodating two self-contained rooms each holding up to 40 people. There are two separate entrances,

When it comes to booking an events space you really do need to make an educated choice to ensure the venue offers the best setting and facilities for your event. According to the British Meetings & Events Industry Survey 2016, both association and corporate clients prefer to have city centre venues, offering added value. There are a host of academic venues across the country that do actually offer both. At the University of Liverpool, its silver MIA accredited Foresight Centre is located moments from the city centre, year round availability for up to 140 delegates and rates starting from £26.50 + VAT. By the very nature of being an academic venue, the technology infrastructure is up to date, with provision of presentation equipment, wi-fi and video conferencing available.

There is also a further portfolio of event and seminar spaces on its city campus to host

The ideal business space at Hold a perfect conference Bodysgallen Hall, N Wales at University of Liverpool

cloakrooms and kitchen, making it ideal for meetings, product launches, exhibitions etc.

Accommodation is offered in 15 bedrooms and suites in the main Hall and 16 individual cottage suites located in the grounds, tastefully decorated and furnished with antiques and collectables.

Renowned for its imaginative and seasonally inspired menus from head chef John Williams, the restaurant in the main Hall has been awarded three AA rosettes.

Relaxation is found at the Bodysgallen Health Spa with a swimming pool, sauna, steam room and gymnasium, and six treatment rooms.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01492 584466 www.www.bodysgallen.com

Gregynog Hall Conference Centre

events from June-September, with capacity for up to 900 delegates for a conference or 350 for a dinner. In addition, the university has over 1,000 en-suite delegate bedrooms available, all within very close proximity of our meeting spaces.

Contact the team now to place your enquiry, and you will be certain of a wide range of flexible meeting spaces to choose from and a warm welcome at University of Liverpool, the educated choice for your next event.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.liverpool.ac.uk/ conferences

South West Wales Premier Conference and Events Venue • Over 40 suites accommodating between 10 – 600 delegates • 22 pitch-facing Executive Suites • Free Wi-Fi • Five minutes from Junction 45 of the M4 motorway • Over 700 complimentary car parking spaces • Government rates offered 01792 616 445 events@liberty-stadium.com www.liberty-stadium.com

• 8 conference rooms seating 10 – 180 • Free wireless • 53 bedrooms • A range of menus using local produce • On site parking • Dedicated events team Find out more about Gregynog: 01686 650224 | enquiries@gregynog.org www.gregynog.org Located near Newtown, Powys, SY16 3PW

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NETWORKING

Using guidance from the Meetings Industry Association, Health Business looks at the benefits of an accredited venue when organising healthcare meetings With over 1.3 million business events held in the UK each year, with a value of over £39 billion to the economy, meetings and events are big business. Regardless of sector, meetings and events are an effective tool for businesses to facilitate networking and teambuilding, run product launches, deliver essential communications and promote innovation. Organising events is a big responsibility and there are a number of things to consider to ensure you are getting it right.

TIMING Timing is crucial across many aspects of your event planning. Firstly, whilst there will be occasions when an event needs to be organised on a tight timescale, if you can allow plenty of time for planning, research and marketing, your event will benefit as a result.

It is also important to consider other industry events or launches taking place, particularly annual events which typically take place at the same time every year. Doing so negates the risk of clashing with established events and therefore affecting your delegate numbers.

For the event itself, the schedule for the day should be clearly laid out and allow for networking opportunities and sufficient rest breaks. As a planner, some allowances should be considered for sessions that overrun and/or issues that arise on the day.

Timely feedback is also important after the event. Whether you choose to ask all delegates or a select few for feedback after an event, do so promptly, whilst the event is fresh in their minds.

If you are going to ask for feedback though, be prepared to act on it when it comes to your next event.

If problems have been highlighted, work to eliminate them for next time and acknowledge and address them for those who have been affected.

will be transparent regarding their pricing structure. At the point of booking, ask about additional charges rather than be faced with an unwelcome surprise when you receive an invoice. When planning your budgets, factor in some contingency for things that may crop up later down the line. If you are charging delegates to attend your event, think about benchmarking against similar events and allow for ‘early bird’ rates or discounts.

VENUES Choosing the right venue is vital. When selecting the best location for your event, there are several things to consider. How accessible is the venue for your delegates? Is it close to transport links, is parking available, is it well signposted?

What do the facilities cover? Is there Wi-Fi and AV support available? Think about legal obligations too – if your venue is serving food do they comply with the Allergens Act? Are there up to date risk assessments available and compliance with legal acts and requirements?

It can seem like an overwhelming task but there are initiatives that can help. For example, Accredited in Meetings (AIM) provides the meetings industry and its buyers with a universally recognised indicator of quality for meetings space and services.

AIM was developed by the Meetings Industry Association (mia) with the support and assistance of event professionals from various strategic partners including Visit Britain and the North West Development Agency.

Launched in Spring 2007, there are over 500 AIM accredited venues and suppliers in the UK who

All venues AIM the Me abide by et which pings CODE, ro Consist motes: e Opennency; Decenc ss; y; a Ethics nd

demonstrate their commitment to quality, service and continuous improvement, all of which benefit the event buyer.

THE BENEFITS OF AIM Essentially, AIM helps event planners to source venues they can instantly trust.

This means doing business with venues that care and have integrity, ensuring that delegates are well looked after. Commitment to service excellence is paramount and the facilities and event spaces are fit for purpose and of high quality standard.

Written by The Meetings Industry Association

Seeking accreditation when planning events

Conferences & Events

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

MEETINGS CODE All AIM venues abide by the Meetings CODE which demands: Consistency; Openness; Decency; and Ethics. AIM venues must achieve 50 grading criteria that include: the location and accessibility of the meeting rooms and facilities; the suitability of the lighting and heating in meeting rooms; the levels of security; how often the rooms are cleaned and decorated; whether the space and furniture are adequate and suitable; the provision of in-room services such as power sockets; what is supplied at no extra charge and how transparent the published prices are.

For venues and suppliers, achieving AIM means gaining an industry accreditation and receiving recognition for the management of the business. Internally, the accreditation can help them audit their processes and procedures and ensure they are offering an excellent level of service. The process also highlights any room for improvement so that they can be addressed quickly and appropriately. L FURTHER INFORMATION www.mia-uk.org

Health Business Awards

BUDGETS Budgets can vary from the generous to the ‘shoestring’. Regardless of where yours sits, you can hold an effective and successful event. Hidden costs often represent the sting in the tail for many organisers. A good venue will have clear terms and conditions and

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Products & Services

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

ACCREDITATION

Paul Ponsonby Limited is an award winning specialist distribution and warehousing company based in the heart of the Midlands, servicing the healthcare industry since 1998. The company is fully experienced in moving sophisticated and sensitive medical equipment and has the expertise required to complete the most complex transport requirements.

Paul Ponsonby’s aim is to provide the highest possible standards of service at all times, allowing customers to concentrate on their own business objectives and leaving them fully confident in the firm’s ability to manage their requirements.

Having partnered with leading hospitals in both the NHS and the private sector, Paul Ponsonby Limited understands the challenges of moving highvalue electronic equipment and machinery. Expensive,

Investors in the Environment (iiE) is a national accreditation scheme. It helps organisations save money, reduce their impact on the environment, and get promoted for their green credentials. iiE provides all the help and support you need to make your organisation greener and ensure you get recognition for your eco initiatives. Upon successful implementation of the iiE criteria, members receive the recognised stamp of certification.

The firm is experienced in assisting NHS organisations to improve their carbon footprint in-line with the Sustainable Development Unit’s ‘Route Map for Sustainable Health’.

The iiE scheme also fits flexibly with existing Sustainable Development Management Plans.

The scheme has a proven track record of making real cost and carbon savings for NHS trusts

Medical equipment transportation specialists

delicate medical equipment and high-value electronics require special handling, comprehensive planning is undertaken to put processes and procedures in place to ensure a seamless transition. Whether you require just one piece of equipment or an entire laboratory facility transporting, Paul Ponsonby can provide a solution for you.

Paul Ponsonby believes its services are an extension of its customers’ business and as such, having almost 20 years of experience, you can be sure your project is in safe hands.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0121 327 8000 www.ponsonby.co.uk

AIR CONDITIONING

AIR CONDITIONING

R W Vesey Ltd provides ventilation system services throughout many industries with a particular focus on the healthcare industry.

The company’s air management services ensure your ventilation requirements are met, whilst working to the necessary standards, such as HTM 03-01 and health building notes for the healthcare industry.

R W Vesey’s outstanding reputation has been achieved by its technician’s depth of knowledge and experience along with the attention to detail within its work and reports, ensuring customer satisfaction throughout.

Investigation, assessment and application through the company’s problem solving techniques have proved its technicians to be leaders in the ventilation industry.

R W Vesey ensures all works within the healthcare sector are carried out in accordance with HTM 03-01 parts A&B and with

M&E contractor Synecore provides an all-encompassing design, installation and maintenance services for electrical, commercial refrigeration, heating, ventilation and air conditioning contracts. With a national network of suppliers and engineers, Synecore is able to support large commercial contracts across the UK. Customer relations and aftercare support are a key aspect of Synecore’s M&E service.

Through its Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) scheme, Synecore is able to offer an exceptional seven year warranty on all new air conditioning systems that are installed and maintained by Synecore.

It is crucial your air conditioning, heating and refrigeration is well maintained by a professional that has your best interests at heart.

Synecore’s PPM service ensures clients remain legally FGas compliant, hold an up-to-date

Providers of specialist ventilation services

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Green accreditation scheme sets the standard for the environment

associated health building notes.

R W Vesey services to this sector include: clean room procedures; HEPA filter replacement; verification and validation; duct cleaning; airflow measurements; particle counting & DOP testing; measurement of room differential pressures; measurement of room noise levels; LEV testing and maintenance; and ventilation systems design and maintenance.

The firm also provides full, detailed reports containing results and recommendations covering the requirements of HTM 03-01 parts A&B to ensure all systems are installed, maintained and serviced to the appropriate standard.

FURTHER INFORMATION www.rwvesey.co.uk

HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

and Clinical Commissioning Groups. In addition, iiE scored highest on five out of six criteria by a working group for NHS environmental managers.

The results speak for themselves, one Nottinghamshire client cut their carbon footprint by a total of 30 per cent over two years. Please get in touch to see how iiE can help you meet the requirements of the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy and become a leader in environmental best practice.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01733 866436 info@iie.uk.com www.iie.uk.com

Heating, ventilation, air con and refrigeration

TM44 certificate (a property’s energy efficiency assessment for air conditioning) and most importantly, the system can continue to work efficiently all year round. This service has proven particularly popular with all kinds of businesses, hospitals, healthcare centres and schools, as it provides complete peace-of-mind.

If you already have existing air conditioning, heating or refrigeration that needs maintenance, or you would like more information about a new installation, contact Synecore’s service control team for a prompt response or visit the website.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 0845 241 5953 www.synecore.co.uk

HEALTHCARE EQUIPMENT

PRINTING

G & J Logistics Ltd is a manufacturer of the Bradfern range of hospital equipment and an Accredited Supplier to the NHS and Public Sector.

The firm’s range of robust products include portering wheelchairs, commodes, gas cylinder trolleys and ward equipment for hospitals, together with production of special build portering chairs and bespoke equipment for bariatric patients.

To extend the life of its products and reduce environmental impact, G & J Logistics Ltd offer re-furbishing, service support and spare parts to maintain and prolong the life of its products.

G & J Logistics Ltd is also approached by healthcare professionals to develop and produce products to meet customer’s requirements. The results of this collaboration, has in recent years, added the Porta Baratric, Porta Rainbow, Easiclean and Swales Mattress Trolley to the company’s range.

Warners Midlands is a family-run high quality magazine, brochure and catalogue printer specialising in the short to medium run market.

Due to its diverse range of machinery, Warners is able to accommodate print runs from 1,000 up to 500,000. The firm can offer web printing economy with quantities as low as 3,000 copies.

Warners can also offer sheeted printing options to suit your printing needs.

Warners can provide a level of flexibility in production that its competitors will struggle to match. Warners’ fully equipped plant means it offers a solution for just about every aspect of the printing process from design through to mailing and dispatch.

The company is also certified to ISO9001 and ISO14001 standards.

However you wish to produce your product, Warners can

Heavy duty hospital and bariatric equipment

The Swales Mattress Trolley (illustrated) has been designed to carry high-quality pressure ulcer prevention mattresses between wards. In an article published in an NHS Staff Matters newsletter, the trolley is praised as simple to use and easily operated by one person, saving time and manpower.

For more information on G & J Logistics’ products or services, please get in contact, or visit the wesbsite for more details.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01706 880394 sales@gjltd.co.uk www.gjltd.co.uk

Brochure and catalogue printing specialists

SECURITY

INFECTION CONTROL

Controlling access to hospitals or establishments within the health sector is essential to allow staff to easily move around specific areas including sterile environments such as operating theatres and laboratories.

Nortech offers hands-free access control solutions which are both secure yet user-friendly.

This benefits maintenance staff, porters, ambulance drivers, nurses, doctors and surgeons.

It can restrict access to areas containing dangerous equipment or medicines and grant access to areas where escorting patients in wheelchairs/beds or carrying sterile equipment is important.

Nedap’s uPASS Access UHF readers’ offer hands-free building access opening doors at a distance of up to two metres whereas their uPASS Reach readers offers long-range vehicle identification opening barriers to authorised vehicles at up to four

Biocidal Products Regulation (BPR) has come into force for hydrogen peroxide.

This could mean that the system you currently use may be illegal.

As per this legislation, once an ‘Active’ has been authorised, manufacturers of biocidal products/systems using or containing that ‘Active’ are required to submit a technical dossier to a European Competent Authority (CA). In the case of hydrogen peroxide, the deadline for technical dossier submission was 1 February 2017.

This means that if a biocidal product/system manufacturer which uses hydrogen peroxide has not already submitted a dossier, it is considered an unauthorised biocidal product/ system and it is illegal to market.

The Health and Safety Executive has stated: “If no application for product authorisation in the UK

Products & Services

BUSINESS INFORMATION FOR HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS – www.healthbusinessuk.net

offer a solution as well as free impartial, professional advice when requested. It also offers free access to its print video library on the Warners website and provides weekly posts on LinkedIn allowing subscribers to hear about news or industry tips.

Why not visit the website to find out more.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01778391000 www.warners.co.uk

Providers of hands-free H2O2 decontamination – is security and access control your system still legal?

As of 1 February 2017, to the healthcare sector the second phase of the

metres without the need for the driver to present a card or badge.

When combined together you create a total hands-free environment, allowing secure but traceable freedom of movement from your staff car park right through to a ward or an operating theatre.

There is no doubt that Nortech’s hands-free access control systems can improve the running of a hospital establishment, call or visit the website for more details.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01633 485533 www.nortechcontrol.com

is made by 1 February 2017 for a biocidal product containing this active substance [hydrogen peroxide], the biocidal product shall no longer be made available on the UK market after 31 July 2017. If the biocidal product has approval under the UK Control of Pesticides Regulations (COPR) its approval will be revoked.”

For more information on the BPR, please visit the website, or call to speak to an adviser.

FURTHER INFORMATION Tel: 01264 835 835 info@bioquell.com www2.bioquell.com/bpr

Volume 17.1 | HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE

69

Advertisers Index

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

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1WorldSync 22 4Imprint Ltd 70 Aerogen BC Agfa Healthcare UK 14 Alliance Online 58 Ascom UK 51 Assistive Partner 20 Bender UK Ltd 32 Bioquell UK 69 Bodysgallen Hall 66 Bradshaw Electric 62 C-tec Building IBC Cfh Docmail Ltd 16 Daikin Applied 34 Eca UK 8 Ecri Institute 30 Escape Mobility 40 Evac Chair 38 Fiat IFC First in Service Ltd 58 G & J Logistics ltd 69

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HEALTH BUSINESS MAGAZINE | Volume 17.1

Glasdon UK Ltd Grange Hotels Gregynog Hall Hicom Ltd Hospedia Limited Htl-Strefa S.A. Informa Sciences Investors in the Environment Iss Mediclean Ltd Johnson Controls Kentec Electronics Langley Waterproofing Systems Legrand Electric Maxus Global Fiat Metric Group Ltd Moduleco Ltd National Air Nortech Control Nova Biomedical U.K.

60 4 66 52 10 55 26 68 6 36 40 44 28 IFC 62 42 36 69 54

Paul Ponsonby 68 Pineapple 35 ProCare Shower and Bathroom 37 R W Vesey Ltd 68 Static Systems 48 Step Exhibitions Ltd 46 Stratia Consulting 44 Swallow 51 Synecore Ltd 68 The Baby Box Co 48 The Liberty Stadium 66 Traka 62 UK Parking Control 64 University of Liverpool 66 Vanguard 37 Warners Midlands 69 We are Lean and Agile 12 Zoeftig Seating Sytems 40

BETTER IS FASTER

Aerogen’s pioneering aerosol drug delivery has proven its ability to enhance patient flow in the Emergency Department.

Compared to standard small volume nebulisers, Aerogen Ultra demonstrated: • 32% reduction in admissions 1 • 37 minute reduction in median length of stay 1 • 75% lower drug use.1

Discover Better aerogen.com

1 Dunne R et al. Aerosol dose matters in the Emergency Department: A comparison of impact of bronchodilator administration with two nebulizer systems. Poster at the American Association for Respiratory Care. 2016

PM360