March 31, 2016 Industry news
The Trust’s innovative barcoding project using GS1 standards will save the NHS millions of pounds
Lord Prior, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for NHS Productivity, visited the Derby Hospital a few days ago to see in person their innovative barcoding project. The Trust is the first in the country to use GS1 barcodes, which are linked to a patient’s wristband to identify each individual patient, to create a record of each patient’s operation and accurately track the medical equipment used in its operating theatres.
The system, which was introduced in April 2014, is saving the Trust £25,000 a month through automatically monitoring and re-ordering stock. It helps keep better track of stock, shows exactly where hospital staff are in the theatres, the duration of operations, what kind of medical equipment is used, the costs incurred – everything is closely monitored to provide better and safer care.
I was delighted to visit the Royal Derby Hospital to see this pioneering scheme in action. The extra £2m in funding from the Government will help the hospital to reduce waste, improve safety for patients and ensure they continue to lead the way in this ground-breaking project."
Lord Prior at his visit to Derby
Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is one of the six NHS Acute Trusts chosen by the Department of Health as a GS1 demonstrator site of excellence and has been awarded a £2 million share of the total £12m funding. The other five demonstrator sites are in Salisbury, North Tees, Cornwall, Plymouth and Leeds. All six sites will demonstrate the significant efficiencies and cost savings, reduced errors and improved patient outcomes and patient safety from using GS1 and PEPPOL standards.
“We’re delighted to have been chosen as one of the six pilot sites. This gives us money to invest in rolling out this technology across our hospitals over the next 12 months,” said Kevin Downs, the Trust’s Director of Finance and Performance. “This barcode scanner technology is already improving patient safety in our hospitals and producing substantial savings. We are keen to lead the way to show others in the NHS how they might benefit.”
Lord Prior is the keynote speaker of the GS1 UK Annual Healthcare Conference 2016, which will take place on 12 and 13 April 2016 at the Radisson Blu Edwardian Heathrow Hotel, where senior hospital managers with clinical, finance and CEO perspectives will share their expertise and experience on a range of topics including patient safety, regulatory compliance, operational efficiency, transparency and focus on the real-life benefits of the adoption of GS1 standards.