An innovative re-design of the hospital resuscitation trolley, funded by the National Patient Safety Agency, has won two awards at the Medical Futures Innovation Awards 2007. The black-tie charity event was attended by 800 people including the great and the good from the healthcare industry, a selection of TV personalities, and was compèred by Joanna Lumley and Rory Bremner.
The design beat 1200 entries and 30 finalists to win the overall award in the category of Anaesthesia and Critical Care, in addition to Best Medical Device in this group. It was also short-listed for the Best National Health Innovation award.
The project was undertaken by the Design for Patient Safety team, comprising of industrial designers led by Professor Roger Coleman and Ed Matthews at the Helen Hamlyn Centre at the Royal College of Art, clinicians and clinical psychologists led by Professor Sir Ara Darzi and Professor Charles Vincent at Imperial College London (at St. Mary’s Hospital, Paddington), and the National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA).
NPSA Chief Executive Martin Fletcher said: “I am delighted that this excellent work has been honoured in this way. It’s a great example of how good design can be utilised in a tangible way for the safety of patients. My congratulations to everyone at the Helen Hamlyn Centre and Imperial College London who has been involved in this exciting and worthwhile project.”
The new design, termed the ‘resus:station’, promises to improve the outcome of some 43,000 resuscitations per year of hospital patients suffering cardiac or respiratory arrest.
Following a brief to design, construct and test a prototype trolley which builds on research into the resuscitation process and restocking procedures, the winning design:
• Splits into three sub trolleys so each team member has their own designated stock.
• Uses Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to keep track of equipment and flashes up warnings if stock is incomplete
• Has advanced touch-screen software to guide, monitor and record the actions of the resuscitation team, enabling improved patient care
• Lays out all equipment openly to give fast access to healthcare staff
In test simulations at St Mary’s Hospital and the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, the concept has greatly improved the emergency team's efficiency. The next stage of design builds on the user feedback and brings a manufacturer on board. Trials of the latest prototype will begin at St Mary’s Hospital in October.
Jonathan West, Senior Research Associate at the Helen Hamlyn Centre said: “Many patient safety errors occur because products are thrown into a system with no regard for how they are actually used. We’re now beginning to see how design can be used to really improve healthcare processes and save lives.”
Submitted: 06 Jul 2007
|
