Hospital’s security is top drawer
EMMA CURRY
HOSPITAL staff are celebrating after winning an award for a project to secure patient’s valuables using new technology.
The facilities and security staff at East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust won the prize for the third year in a row at the Health Business Awards.
They came top in the hospital security category for working with a company called Teal, based in Darwen, to develop bedside lockers and a secure storage system for patients.
The scheme, involving a special drawer in patients’ bedside locker which can only be locked and unlocked using a radio frequency ID wristband, was the first of its kind in the country.
The wristband is programmed by staff on a patient’s arrival on the ward, so that they can safely store their personal belongings if they chose. These new lockers have been rolled out across the trust after a successful pilot scheme at the Royal Blackburn Teaching Hospital, and the number of claims for lost and stolen property has reduced by a third.
The facilities and security team were presented with their award by physician and comedian Dr Phil Hammond.
Jed Morris, security and governance manager at the trust, said: “We are very pleased to have won this award, having worked extremely hard on innovation for our patients using our hospital services.
“We really wanted to improve the patient experience and environment for patients to ensure they feel confident in the security of their belong- ings during their stay if they chose to hold their valuables at their bedside.
“This is a relatively sim- ple, yet ingenious scheme that so far has reduced loss and generated some really positive feedback from our patients.”