Abloy UK’s supply of high security CLIQ cylinders and keys to upgrade the security of the drug cabinets at Scunthorpe General Hospital has resulted in significant cost and time savings.
The Hospital uses traditional mechanical locks to control its drug cabinets, with most wards having several cupboards and fridges, each with a different key, and the ward manager/nurse in charge holding these for their shift’s duration. Consequently, nurses spend considerable time searching for keys, and determining which key fits which lock. In an attempt to streamline the process, Scunthorpe General Hospital trialled Abloy’s electro-mechanical CLIQ Remote locking system on one ward, fitting highsecurity cylinders and keys to all the drug cabinets and cupboards, and padlocks on fridges. Every nurse also has their own key, individually programmed to allow access to the required cupboards. The technology’s additional benefits included easily being able to amend or delete access rights, and collecting audit trails from the cylinders, plus the ability to easily delete lost or stolen keys from the system. Mike Urwin, clinical director of Pharmacy and Medicine Management, said: “Our research showed that, typically, a nurse spends an average 40 minutes per shift looking for keys, equating to 250 minutes lost on a ward every day. Apply this across all 51 of our wards, and the lost time would equate to an extra 24 nurses on duty every day Trust-wide. I would recommend that the Trust implement the Abloy CLIQ Remote locking system as soon as possible to improve medicine security, and increase nursing care – through the time saved not looking for medicine cupboard keys – and suggest that all other Trusts consider a trial to see the system’s benefits.”
