The Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has rolled out a standardisation programme to improve the procurement and management of medical devices, including blood pressure monitoring equipment.
In a recent interim review of operational productivity, Lord Carter of Coles highlighted the need to improve efficiency and procurement management across the NHS.1 It has been estimated that cutting the number of product lines of every day consumables and being better at procurement could save the NHS up to £1 billion by 2020.2 In particular, the standardisation of medical devices has been identified as one way in which efficiency in NHS hospitals could be improved.
One Trust that is ahead of the curve is the Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Serving a population of over 600,000 people in and around Southern Derbyshire, the Trust treats a million patients each year and performs an average of more than 280 operations per day. Like all busy Trusts, there is a need to ensure efficiency and the Trust has turned to innovative technological solutions to help staff carry out routine observations quicker. Not only has this saved the Trust money, but, most importantly, it has released nursing time back to caring for patients.
The challenge
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