Equipment provider rolls out bed management project to improve patient care at Irish hospital
Irish healthcare equipment provider Beechfield Healthcare has announced that it is starting a replacement programme of every bed and mattress in Tallaght University Hospital (TUH), which is set to bring about “significant benefits” to patient care.
The initiative is the first Total Bed Management contract ever made in a public hospital in the Republic of Ireland and is expected to change how TUH oversees and manages its bed and mattresses. Both procurement and frontline staff at the hospital now have a site-wide view of their entire bed and mattress supply to optimise patient care.
Before the move to the new total bed management contract, the hospital, in addition to the purchase and maintenance of its beds, was deploying a high number of dynamic mattresses with associated annual costs.
The Total Bed Management solution from Beechfield Healthcare strips out ad-hoc bed purchasing and servicing, and it also incorporates all mattress rental costs.
James Gargan, Commercial Director at Beechfield Healthcare, said: “Working with the Project Management team and hospital staff of Tallaght University Hospital to roll out their Total Bed Management project has been an exciting and rewarding experience for our entire team.
“I believe the impact of the change in the hospital will be immediate and will bring significant benefits to patient care.
“With the Innov8 IQ bed and Hybrid Power mattress from Drive DeVilbiss, we’ve built a Total Bed Management solution that is best-in-class and I look forward to deploying this expertise into other acute care sites in Ireland.”
It is anticipated that the project will be cost-neutral for the duration of the contract, while providing the hospital with brand new beds and mattresses and saving time in the management of contracts and suppliers.
The introduction of the solution in the hospital follows a strategic review of its bed and mattress management practices by a multi-disciplinary team. Following the review, it was decided to go to market and explore alternative options that would service the healthcare needs of the community, provide care based on best practice, and deliver value for money.
The strategic review team travelled to hospitals in the Republic of Ireland to investigate the concept of Total Bed Management, where it is well established as a concept.
After TUH issued a public tender and received submissions from both domestic and international suppliers, Beechfield Healthcare was awarded the tender.
Áine Lynch, Director of Nursing & Integrated Care at Tallaght University Hospital, commented: “When we awarded the Total Bed Management project to Beechfield Healthcare we knew we were confident that the patient and staff experience would be enhanced by the new process and the way in which the hospital administers and delivers care to its patients.
“The complete solution provided by Beechfield Healthcare presented the hospital with the best solution, providing a one-stop-shop for all our beds and mattresses. We now have one point of contact and with that, one way of ordering a bed, one way of reporting a fault and one way of ordering a mattress.
“It will remove the complexity of managing multiple bed types and contracts. Staff need only be familiar with one type of bed, and most importantly, it improves patient comfort, gives them greater independence as they can adjust the bed to a position in which they are most comfortable.”