Another Bioquell Pod to the rescue

Published: 23-Jan-2015

The Bioquell Pod is a semi-permanent structure that combines many of the benefits of single rooms while retaining many of the primary advantages of bays or open wards


Like many other NHS hospitals, the Emergency Department at East Surrey Hospital in the UK experienced patient flow problems due to a lack of side rooms. This affected throughput and therefore its performance measurements. Above all, the A&E team was finding it hard to provide the very best care they were striving to achieve. When presented with the Bioquell Pod, the team immediately saw an easy and affordable way to boost side room capacity and improve patient flow.

A large proportion of patients were entering the East Surrey A&E Department with confirmed or suspected infectious diseases. These patients were often found to be expressing symptoms like diarrhoea or vomiting. Dealing with these infectious cases was a particular challenge for hospital staff. They didn’t always have the infrastructure to provide adequate isolation areas.

Without adequate side rooms or some other form of isolation, infections had the potential to spread easily to other patients or to healthcare workers. So in order to effectively manage/contain a possible outbreak, practices were implemented that usually lead to bed blocking or even ward closure. This was something East Surrey Hospital wanted to rectify and sought the help of Bioquell, a leading expert in managing/eliminating infectious disease challenges.

After careful consideration, one of the company’s latest innovations was identified as an ideal solution for the A&E team, the Bioquell Pod. This is a semi-permanent structure which combines many of the benefits of single rooms while retaining many of the primary advantages of bays or open wards. Pods are installed in a few hours with minimal disruption to wards, patients and heathcare workers. Once installed, they enable segregated isolation of infectious patients and, between each patient, they can be safely treated using Bioquell hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) technology to eradicate all pathogen contamination.

Ashley Flores, Lead Nurse Infection Prevention & Control and Deputy DIPC at the Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, commented: 'Caring for patients with confirmed or suspected infectious diseases in the Emergency Department is challenging since we have so few single rooms. The Pod has given us more flexibility in giving patients the best level of care while ensuring all-important patient throughput. We are exploring other areas of the Trust that may benefit from Pods.'

Read the full case study.

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