Better bed and mattress management achieved

With growing demand for healthcare services, and acutely limited resources, tracking the location of hospital beds and mattresses with RFID can see significant efficiency gains and improvements in patient safety. So says Simon Dawkins, RFID product manager for Healthcare at RFiD Discovery, who here provides an overview of available technologies, and, via case study examples, illustrates ‘the multiple benefits’ of RFID tracking – including reducing the need to rent beds, supporting strategic decision making, and improving infection control.

According to the BBC, in 2015/16 more than one in 10 seriously ill patients in England faced long delays waiting for a hospital bed after an emergency admission.1 In Quarter 3 of 2017/18 the average occupancy rate for general and acute beds open overnight was 90.7%,1 well above what is considered the safe limit of 85%, which would give staff sufficient time to clean beds, keep infections low, and ensure that patients who need beds can be provided with them quickly. 

With the situation set to get worse due to increasing patient numbers and further budget cuts, NHS Trusts are having to look at ways to maximise the use of existing beds and mattresses.