Innovative use of technology puts a Hartlepool health trust in the running for an award

A unique system which uses barcodes and scanners to identify patients and equipment was developed at the North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust.

Its Information Communication and Technology (ICT) team developed the CareScan+ technology which has been nominated for a Health Service Journal (HSJ) Patient Safety Award in the ‘Best HealthTech Solution for Patient Safety’ category.

Tony Naylor, Associate Director for ICT, said: “The whole Trust is committed to safe and efficient patient care and we had huge support to develop the system.“

Anthony Kennerley, CareScan+ Project Manager, said: “We couldn’t do this without the close working partnership with our clinical colleagues. We worked hand-in-hand to develop a tech solution to improve patient safety.

“It’s been hard work, but worth every second.”

CareScan+ was trialled in late 2019 and is used by clinical staff to scan items, such as replacement hip and knee joints before they are used in the operating theatre.

CareScan+ maintains a record of surgical implants used for re-order purposes. The system can also warn the person scanning the item. For example, the handset will inform the user if the item is out of date or some other aspect of its use needs to be checked.

The system means items can be traced much more quickly. This means that if, although unlikely, there was a manufacturer’s recall, every patient who has received the recalled product can be identified within minutes so that any necessary review and follow-up is arranged much sooner.

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