Designing better mental healthcare facilities

Medicine management technology delivers savings

Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust has reduced its drug spend by 11.7%, based on a 16-month ‘like for like’ comparison – equating to a £6,000 per ward annual saving – after investing in new automated medication dispensing cabinets and software to allow central pharmacy teams to manage medication use at Hopewood Park in Sunderland, a 122-bed inpatient care facility for adults with mental health problems.

Since its installation 18 months ago, the new Omnicell system has reduced medicine wastage, helped release clinical staff to deliver more care, and improved patient safety – ensuring that the right patient gets the right dose of the right drug at the right time.

At the outset, the Trust worked closely with Omnicell UK to design ‘lean processes’ to ensure the cabinets were in the optimal locations. Alongside the financial savings, and a fall from 37.7% to 23% in ward reports of noncompliance with omitted dose audit standards, the Omnicell cabinets have reduced the need for out-of-hours medicine supply from central pharmacy, with the proportion of calls to emergency duty pharmacists about medicines supply 12% down, and ad hoc orders falling from 77% to 25%.

Omnicell said: “The cabinets have also reduced concerns in relation to the safe and secure management of medicines, and improved the audit trail.” A reduction in controlled drugs incident investigations has resulted in a £20,000 saving.” 

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