Aberdeen Royal Infirmary uses ExtraMed software
- 9 July 2008
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| Screenshot of BEDS system from ExtraMed |
NHS Grampian is planning to roll out a real-time bed management system across its nine hospitals following a deployment at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
The BEDS system from ExtraMed has replaced a paper-based system in which ward managers would monitor and report on the bed status of their ward twice-daily. It allows staff to view the real-time status of beds from any trust workstation.
Aberdeen Royal Infirmary agreed to deploy the software after a pilot in the acute medical and receiving areas of the hospital proved successful earlier this year. The system is now being deployed on a phased basis.
It will eventually be used to monitor all 900 beds on site and NHS Grampian is planning to use it in its other hospitals eventually.
Assistant general manager, Adam Coldwells, said: “The software not only shows us, minute by minute, which patient is where, but also the estimated date for the patient to leave hospital.
“This makes bed capacity management and discharge planning much more effective. We want to make sure we’re making absolutely the best use of our resources and this system gives us up to the minute information at our fingertips.”
He added: “It is being used by a wide range of staff. Nurses can locate patients and see estimated discharge dates, doctors can check the timing and sequence of tests, and portering staff can check it when they need to collect a patient from a ward.”
ExtraMed worked with the hospital to customise its system and has devised and tailored checklists so that key aspects of a patient’s details are updated in an efficient and uniform way.
Ward sister, Elizabeth Millar, said: “All of us find it very easy. It is a simple, colour-coded system. You hover the mouse for details, rather than click your way through menus, and colours show how soon a patient is ready to be discharged.
“The constant to and fro to the phone about bed management used to take up a lot of the nurse in charge’s administrative time. Now all staff, including our auxiliary nurses, can keep the system up to date and refer to the latest information without having to constantly ask the nurse in charge.”
The deployment at Aberdeen is ExtraMed’s first installation in Scotland and the company says it is confident the hospital will be seen as a reference site for the technology.
ExtraMed’s managing director, Keith Nicholson, told E-Health Insider: “BEDS is an effective patient flow software tool which saves nurses having to search around the hospital to see if beds are free.
“Using this software saves time and allows hospitals to move patients around confidently as necessary. It ensures any staff who need to can easily monitor wards and ensure any compliance measures are not breached. I am sure Scotland will look at this project and see the benefits it can bring.”
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