Product Inspiration from the Hospital Floor
At BRENMOOR we take seriously all feedback and comments received from hospital and nursing staff regarding the materials, construction, durability, fit and use of our range of Patient ID solutions.
We are genuinely pleased to hear from customers, partners and end-users who have ideas to improve our best-selling range of hospital wristbands and labels, or have ideas for new Patient ID solutions. As designers and manufacturers of market-leading patient identification solutions, BRENMOOR fully understand what is able to be produced and what is not.
In addition to a number of improvements we have made to latest range hospital wristband products, arising from valuable feedback received from nursing staff, we have also been able to design and manufacture an innovative method of identifying blood units with our innovative Blood Bag Tag product.
Our latest much-needed solution to resolve an increasing problem experienced by the cancellation of valuable operating theatre time and costs, is our NIL by MOUTH alert wristband which was an idea conceived and nurtured by Wayne Watkins, an Operating Department Practitioner, working in a busy suite of theatres in a large NHS hospital.
Wayne takes up his story below:
NIL by MOUTH – care-alert printed hospital bracelets
Several months ago, while at home, I had an idea for a product that I hoped might solve a growing problem for all UK hospitals, and in the process save money and improve efficiency. That problem being, the increasing numbers of delays experienced on the Operating Theatre list.
An increasing number of surgical operations are often delayed and/or cancelled due to the patient eating or drinking prior to surgery. There are various reasons why a patient may eat or drink when they should be fasting and presently there is no accurate way of determining if a patient is under Nil by Mouth care except by asking a nursing staff member.
The resultant delay or cancellation of any surgical procedure will often distress the patients who are already anxious about coming to the theatre suite. The knock-on effect will cause delays and cancellations, and a loss of revenue to the hospital. My idea to resolve this issue was to create a highly visible alert which would clearly display to all concerned that a patient was in preparation for theatre.
My first idea was to devise a badge which could be attached to the patients gowns. However, after some additional thought I came up with the idea of an alert wristband. As all hospitals use printed identification wristbands, and some often will use additional coloured or marked wristbands to signify allergy or specific care alerts, why not have a similar band to highlight that no food or drink should be consumed.
Manufactured by BRENMOOR but the inspiration of Wayne Watkins, Operating Department Practitioner at a large NHS hospital. Wayne had the foresight for an alert wristband which would provide a clear indication to nursing staff and patients, and ultimately save on operating theatre costs and reduce the numbers of cancelled operations.
This alert wristband should be eye-catching with a clearly identifiable design to warn patients and staff of a Nil by Mouth policy while the patient was preparing for theatre. The band would also feature space for date of surgery, and state times that last food and drinks could be taken, which could be easily completed by nursing staff during attachment of the band.
Now that I had a concept for my Nil by Mouth wristband, I needed help on how to take it to the next stage and get it into full production. A search for a suitable manufacturer and distributor highlighted BRENMOOR, a UK based company already successfully producing and supplying printed hospital wristbands, including an ALLERGY alert wristband, and a range of other patient ID solutions into 70% of all NHS hospitals.
I contacted Paul Brennan of BRENMOOR regarding my idea and together we discussed the concept and design of the wristband. After a relatively short time we were able to agree upon designs, materials and fastenings for this innovative new product and put the whole thing into production.
After many hours trying to perfect my idea for a NIL by MOUTH alert wristband, and with help from the team at BRENMOOR, we have been able to produce a solution to reduce the increasing numbers of delayed surgical procedures and reduce theatre costs arising from these.