I cannot understand why the cleaning of mattress's come under 'equipment library' surely this should be done by infection control, do you not think also that it is wasting the talents of a BME technician chasing around the hospital collecting and delivering infusion devices?

Sorry to have to say it, Neil ... but once again you demonstrate your lack of awareness of the state of play in UK hospitals.

You don't expect our lovely nurses to have to get their hands dirty, do you?

And "infection control"? Who (and indeed, what) is that?

We have a department that covers this subject, all the policy & procedures, which detergents to use and whose hands get dirty. From my side my policy & procedure regarding items that are covered in blood and snot are not to be touched by my technicians.

Neil

Our library is staffed by people who's job is to run around fetching and carrying and cleaning.So the nurses don't have to worry themselves, but not BME technicians.

Why is it that the UK does not have the foresight in the way that the continent does when building or refurbishing hospitals? They incorporate bed exchange facilities into the structure including bed washing and mattress decontamination which is totally automated.

One word and you mentioned it "foresight" or lack thereof

Because this is Britain, where everything is done on the cheap.

The other reason is that dreaded word:- architects. In general they know sod-all about hospitals, and how they work.

People such as yourself, myself, and Neil would make a better fist of designing healthcare facilities. I know that for sure, having done so myself on a number of occasions (but not in the UK, of course - tut, tut, that would never do) ... and that was whilst fending off architects, "engineers" (and yes, physicians, surgeons and over-bearing "theatre sisters") all at the same time. They all had (and have) vested interests (naturally), but somebody - preferably someone with half a brain - has to pull it all together, and drive the thing to successful fruition.

Much as I support and admire the guiding principles of our National Health Service, let's not kid ourselves when it comes to talk of it being "the envy of the world", and all that clap-trap. As we all know only too well (apart from a few "centres of excellence", perhaps) the reality is something else entirely. That's why we need to keep on fighting!

Some of us did have the foresight to see that we need more than just the space to stand the beds in.

Unfortunately PFI for this Trust meant having to pay an additional mortgage as well as all the other bills we had been paying before, so it should be no surprise that the new build is quite a bit smaller than the old.

Mind you it did not help the situation that once we were in the new build two large store rooms were taken away from the Wards to be used for the Equipment Library.

Lee

Our equipment library has just gone through a refit and is staffed by two, very busy, people. It is currently managed by the Tissue viability nurse(which links to a previous message from someone about managing pressure relieving devices). I have passed this 'thread' onto the staff for their information - it's nice to get support from other Trusts in this fashion, through this forum.

) Hospital size >800 beds over 3 sites
2) Library Staff 2
3) Library staff often have to collect alot of equipment daily(eg syringe drivers/infusion pumps) to ensure its return
4) Clean and disinfect - no seperate area for this in library, ward staff are required to clean before return...

The Library is definately an essential requirement for this Trust, although it is faced with issues such as insufficient items to loan, (we are currently undergoing a pumps need analysis to assess this)

"Private Finance Initiative" ... a system of back-scratching whereby we will forever be paying out for what we could have owned outright for a fraction of the cost.

H'mmm ... that does sound a bit like a mortgage, come to think of it.

Here's another thought to ponder:- how about inviting one of the companies to sponsor the Equipment Library? You could always offer (in return) to display their "message" prominently on your carts!