A cutting-edge health facility being installed at a North East hospital as a result of a project that formed part of a workbased degree in Leadership and Management at Teesside University.
Christine Williams, business performance manager for the Division of Acute Medicine at South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, looked at processes for decontaminating flexible endoscopes, used to examine patient’s stomachs. Her project has led to the installation of a new £2 million centralised decontamination unit at James Cook Hospital in Middlesbrough which carries out more than 900 endoscopies each month.
Christine said: “Working with support and contribution of Trust colleagues, I looked at the decontamination of endoscopes in the endoscopy and theatre setting. It is crucial to make sure endoscopes are decontaminated effectively and I looked at ways of making this even more efficient and effective.
“My university project gave me the opportunity to blend the theory and practice to put in place a new system that would improve the overall patient experience and access to services.”
The new unit has been operating since April 2013 and has already proved to be a success. Christine said: “What we have now is a central point for decontamination which, from a service point of view, means we clean, decontaminate and package up endoscopes in a more efficient way. We were already delivering best practice, however we’ve gone further than that, we have future-proofed the service. From a savings point of view by centralising the system we are eliminating waste and there is no delay for a patient coming in for a procedure.”
