Our Equipment Library is part of the ebme dept which is within the Facilities division.

Does it matter which division manages the Equipment Library?

If an Equipment Library has an ebme tech as a member of staff, do you think that a Medical/Surgical division could take on the management of the Library .. lock, stock and barrel?

Cheers
Mark

I believe we could say that as long as the Library meets its customers needs, and has a good relationship with the biomed techs (that is, is given a measure of priority for repairs and PM), then it should not matter which "division" it falls under. In theory, at least.

However, and having said that, at one place I was at I was successful in having biomed re-assigned to the nursing directorate, but that was due mainly to the constant grief I was getting from the Hospital Engineer (so-called)!

And (slightly off topic, but in similar vein), I see nothing wrong with having biomed officially allied (that is, under the same operational budget etc.) with the "big shots" amongst the users ... that is, the Operating Theatres and/or Critical Care people. Anything to get away from what we might call the "entrenched mindset" generally found in Estates!

But lastly, could you be the same Mark.N who was on here recently, apparently advocating a merger of biomeds with electricians? Can we now assume that one has been safely kicked into touch?

Geoff,

The merger with the electricians has been put to bed, but that's not to say that there isn't going to be some cross-border co-operation at a lower level - shared trainee's, electrical safety testing etc.

LEAN thinking.

Who knows .. the boundaries between the various disciplines throughout our Trust are being examined. If there's an efficiency to be made, we are being encouraged to find it.

The addage "we do it this way because we've always done it this way" is no longer welcome here at Taunton.

We've got a good hospital here and we want it to stay that way and prosper.

Cheers
Mark

LEAN thinking, isn't that when two or more people are having a chat and at least one of them is leaning on the wall?

Hello Mark,

Our Equipment Library is part of the ebme dept which is within what is left of the Facilities division following PFI.

I don't think it matters who manages the Library but cooperation between the different divisions is essential.

Our Librarians Deliver and collect, clean and disinfect, test and do basic repairs, and advise on basic use of equipment; most of their time is actually spent on cleaning and disinfection of Pressure and Static Mattresses; so they could equally come under nursing or training departments.

PS any chance of you putting your information into the “How big is your Library” thread?

Lee

I kid you not, our is run by the chief "bog" cleaner or more precisely not run. Door's locked, lights off. Last one out.......

A "Quality Service", then?

Dare I suggest that yours could be (yet another) site that might well benefit from a healthy dose of privatisation?

Common sense wouldn't go a miss

From what I've seen of it, the NHS (especially at middle management level, and - possibly - above) is more about "Common Purpose" than Common Sense.

I have a saying out here, "when you arrive 'home' from the airport open your suitcase and remove the clothes and other bits, replace them with logic and common sense, close the suitcase and life will be fine, reverse the process before you go on vacation".

There was another one that I first heard from Rufus*, my old EMT (ambulance paramedic) mate at Al-Huwaylat, back in 1987:-

"If it's logical, it don't belong here"!

* Also known as the Walrus - due to his exuberant mustache!

Common Sense is great until you use it with management.

Our Hospital is in the Beazer Home League Division 3 (South) as like everything else here is is led by a bunch of amateurs. The library was managed by the manager of the Medical Electronics, part of Facilities a division of Estates, who was instrumental in its inception. It has now passed to the control of the newly appointed Medical Devices Manager. We await to see the success of his previous project, the Carlsberg Christmas Party, with baited breath.

When management fail, bring in the expensive consultants to inform you of that which you already know!

Nice one, Charlie. I like your style (but, needless to say really, also feel your pain)!