January 26, 2017 Industry news
One year anniversary of the Scan4Safety project shows how the NHS is leading the world in GS1 standards adoption
The six demonstrator sites of excellence that kick-started the Scan4Safety project a year ago, are now actively deploying GS1 and PEPPOL standards and are delivering significant and quantifiable patient safety and financial benefits.
The Scan4Safety project is helping the NHS save thousands of lives and millions of pounds by adopting GS1 standards and enabling Trusts to identify every person, every product and every place. This provides Trusts with the certainty of truth of who did what to whom - when, where and why.
Rob Drag, Scan4Safety Programme Manager at Salisbury NHS Foundation Trust says: “We now have real transparency of the actual cost of our procedures and complete visibility of our stock.” And Richard Price, Scan4Safety Programme Manager at Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust adds: “By using GS1 standards we’ve seen a big difference in our inventory management through re-providing clinical space and reducing both expired products and stock-outs.”
Within the first year of the Scan4Safety project, considerable cost savings have been achieved so far – and these are to be repeated every year going forward. Derby Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust have saved £1.2 million annually through reduced consumption in theatres while Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust have so far saved £812,000 through reducing the amount of stock they hold.
Glen Hodgson, Head of Healthcare at GS1 UK, says: “We’re thrilled to see the great progress that all six demonstrator sites have shown in adopting GS1 standards. What we’ve learned from their activity is giving us clear guidance and best practice examples which can be taken to all NHS Acute Trusts in England. This week over 80 Trusts and 200 suppliers attended the latest Scan4Safety conference – showing the passion and desire to take the project wider and deeper throughout the NHS.”
Going forward the six demonstrator sites have many more aspirations. Jane Hawkes of Procurement & Supplies and Project Lead at North Tees and Hartlepool Hospitals NHS Trust says: “We want to continue improving the safety of patients, increase the amount of time clinical staff are able to spend with them and improve the NHS to ensure we continue to provide the best world class service.”
Based on the initial findings from the six demonstrator sites, it is estimated that for a typical NHS Hospital Trust, the benefits could be*:
- Time released for more patient care – equivalent to 16 band five nurses per Trust, or 2,400 band five nurses across the NHS
- A reduction of inventory averaging £1.5 million per Trust, or £216 million across the NHS
- Ongoing operational efficiencies of £2.4 million per Trust annually, or £365 million across the NHS
* Source: Scan4Safety website - Benefits
Related
GS1 standards are helping the NHS save thousands of lives and millions of pounds