MP Visits Guys and St Thomas Foundation Trust to See How Technology is Helping to Reduce Medication Errors and Improve Patient Safety
Nigel Mills MP today (18th June 2019) visited Guys and Thomas NHS Foundation to understand more about the key role technology is playing in driving patient safety standards. The Trust has, in recent years, harnessed and invested in cutting-edge technology to manage medication administration. These automated systems reduce the risk of medication errors and free-up healthcare professionals to spend more time on face-to-face patient care.
The visit comes in the wake of a report by the Department of Health and Social Care last year which disclosed that in England 237 million mistakes occur every year at some point in the medication process1. These errors cause serious issues for patient safety, but also place a significant cost burden on an already stretched NHS.
At the visit, David Lawson, Director of Procurement at GSTT, demonstrated the benefit of the Trust’s decision to invest in a series of Omnicell systems which automate the administration of medication and medical supplies. The Trust has the biggest installation of Omnicell cabinets in the UK and their approach allows them to track everything back to the patient from the moment the medication/supplies are prescribed/assigned to when they are administered/used – ensuring patient safety.
Nigel Mills, Conservative MP for Amber Valley and Vice Chair of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Patient Safety commented; “The technology I have seen during my visit to Guy’s Hospital is making a real difference to not only patient’s lives but staff too. It’s important that the NHS embraces technology that already exists to improve patient safety around the management or medication and medical supplies. Not only do these systems do just that, they also allow clinical staff to spend more time caring for patients.”
Paul O’Hanlon, Managing Director of Omnicell UK & Ireland, who facilitated the visit commented; “It’s great to see that Nigel is here today to see at first-hand how important it is to invest in new technology. Medicine and nursing is a safety critical industry – behind every statistic is someone’s life, it is always someone’s son, someone’s father, someone’s daughter.”
