Bed-tracking system may be just what the doctor ordered in superbug fight

Published on Sunday 31 May 2009 22:13

COMPUTER software that allows hospitals to track patients with infections could prove vital in managing serious superbug outbreaks, experts believe.

The program, which can help monitor cases of diseases such as MRSA and Clostridium difficile, is being used at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.

It has mainly been used to monitor bed availability and to allow staff to cope at times of high demand. However, it is now being rolled out to help with infection control – and might prove invaluable in the case of a swine flu pandemic being declared.

While the infection has proved mild and has been largely contained, it is feared that a second wave of more serious illness might emerge in autumn and winter, leading to a surge in hospital admissions. The Scottish Government is looking at how the system could improve care and tackle bugs in hospitals.

The ExtraMed Beds program uses a touch screen with a layout of each ward in the hospital. Patients' names and that of their doctor is displayed on a bed symbol on the screen, corresponding to their location.

There is also information about where other beds are available in case a patient has to be moved. The system flags up patients who have an infection, such as MRSA, C diff or flu, which could spread to others in the same ward.

If patients are diagnosed after being moved around the hospital, staff can quickly see where they have been and assess whether others need to be checked for infection.

If a patient has a history of violent behaviour, this can also be flagged up so security staff can monitor their movements. Irene Jessiman, senior operational support manager at NHS Grampian, said that if a patient was being moved to a different ward, staff in the central control room could see this and query if it was the right decision.

"It was not that our systems before were particularly poor, it's just that this has the potential to improve them and improve our tracking," she said. "With the new infection control module, we can quickly see patients who are at risk who are not in appropriate beds, and appropriate beds being used by patients who are not at risk."

She said the system would be useful in a swine flu pandemic, both for tracking infections and managing the expected huge demand for beds. "In the event of swine flu, you are looking to limit its spread as far as possible. You would protect beds in that area so as new cases arrive you can co-locate infectious patients," she said.

Since the system was launched last year, the touch screens have also freed up the time staff previously spent filling in paper records and phoning other parts of the hospital to say where patients were going and when beds were empty. Ms Jessiman said communicating across a site with up to 1,000 beds could be difficult and many hours that would have been spent on form-filling could now be spent dealing with patients.

She said she would encourage other hospitals to adopt a similar system.

"I think everyone should have real-time information," she said. "With the pressures we have and the targets we have, and the expectations of our patients, it's not acceptable to not know at any time what you have on your site in terms of capacity."

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said health secretary Nicola Sturgeon had seen the computer system at work. "We are currently exploring the potential of the system to improve care and examining what benefits it can offer in tackling hospital infections," she said.