Staff at KGH have won a prestigious award for developing a hi-tech way of monitoring
infection control issues and improving patient safety.
The news comes as KGH
celebrates its lowest infection rates in five years with only one case of MRSA
bloodstream infection in 2011-12.
The hospital has won the 2012
Allocate Award for Improving Care and Patient Safety
through Technology – a prestigious industry award judged by independent
experts including Dr David Foster, the Department of Health’s deputy director
of nursing.
It did this by using Allocate
computer software to develop a unique way of monitoring all aspects of
infection control performance including recording infections, where they occur,
and related issues such cleaning and infection control audit results.
The system was developed by
KGH Corporate Projects Manager Linda Cottenham, lead nurse for infection
prevention and control, Pam Howe, and infection control nurse Jennie Lovell.
Linda was presented with the
award on behalf of the KGH team on June 12 at an event in York.
Pam said: “We wanted to
improve patient safety by developing a system which would enable staff working
in clinical areas to see – in real time – exactly what the infection control
situation was like at the hospital and how we were doing in all the areas that
contribute to that.
“Therefore we worked together
to develop a kind of ‘electronic dashboard’ which shows us exactly how we are
doing in many different areas of infection control – in a way like the
dashboard on your car shows your speed, revs, petrol and temperature.
“By doing this we can assist
staff working on the wards to see issues early on and address them. We did this
primarily to make the hospital a safer place for patients – but obviously it is
great that our system has been recognised by leading industry experts and given
an award.”
The KGH Team worked hard with
software company Allocate at customising the software system HealthAssure for
their specific needs, resulting in a bespoke solution they are very proud of.
This innovative system will assist
in delivering high standards of infection control. Among other benefits,
infection control rates and exception reports are provided at ward level,
allowing staff to act quickly when infections are reported.
Chief Executive of Allocate
Software, Ian Bowles said: “Linda Cottenham, Pam Howe and Jennie Lovell are
among the first to be honoured by these prestigious awards in the year of their
launch, for exceptional work and dedication over the past year. I would
personally like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the team for their
inspiring achievement in winning this award; also my very best wishes for their
on-going efforts and future projects.”
It isn’t the first time KGH
has won awards for its infection control work. The hospital won the 2009
national Health and Social Care Awards for its Kettering Infection Predictor
system.
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