Hospital Keeps Better Track Of Medical Equipment

MORE than 20,000 medical items belonging to one of the largest NHS Trusts in the UK are being forensically marked with SelectaDNA as part of an ongoing initiative to improve equipment management and prevent and deter theft.

University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) is situated in the heart of London and provides acute and specialist services across six hospitals. The Trust is introducing a new policy for managing the procurement and disposal of medical equipment regardless of value.
 
It is also the first Trust in the UK to introduce a SelectaDNA forensic marking programme that will allow all medical equipment and items such as PCs, laptops, monitors and printers to be recovered should they be lost or stolen.

Up until recently, clinical departments have been free to purchase and dispose of their own equipment from their own budgets. This meant that any items under £5,000 were uncontrolled.

David Cook, Head of Clinical Engineering who is leading the project, said: “A team of 18 staff from Clinical Engineering, part of the Department of Medical Physics and Bioengineering, will be visiting every clinical department to verify and update records of medical equipment, regardless of value. They will also update asset numbers and apply SelectaDNA security markings to each item.“

He added:  “This work is the first phase of a project to improve our efficiency when it comes to medical equipment. Not knowing exactly how many items we have means we don’t know how many have been lost or even stolen. Therefore, ensuring we have a log of equipment and that it is security marked to deter thieves is vital.”

The SelectaDNA solution comes in a kit and contains a unique DNA code that can link each marked item to an individual hospital. It does not damage the marked property in any way. If a marked item of equipment is stolen and later recovered by police, it can be traced back to the hospital via a secure online database.
 
Deterrent stickers for marked items and window stickers that can be placed on hospital premises are included in the kits. Outdoor signage that could be fixed to outside gates or exterior walls is also available.