‘1% increase in staff efficiency could save the NHS £280 million a year,’ Lord Carter estimated in his report (Operational productivity and performance in English NHS acute hospitals: Unwarranted variations, 2016), which equates to 5 minutes of an eight hour shift. The report also examines healthcare systems in other countries for example, Germany, France, Italy and the US, where they have a focus on efficiency, as there has been a correlation to that and patient care.

Whenever we are responsible for looking after a patient’s property, we need to be able to locate, secure and identify property to that patient or their family, whenever required. This will avoid time spent on searching for items, in some cases across multiple departments, sites and trusts; avoid confrontation with patients and/or their families; protect hospitals and staff from claims genuine and fraudulent; save time on attempting to contact patients after discharge to reunite them with their possessions; storage and disposal of unclaimed items; reduce staff off-sick through stress after repeatedly not being able to return a loved one’s possessions to their families. 

So how can the Smartsafe™ patient property bags drive efficiency? 

• Unique number – every Smartsafe™ bag is uniquely numbered so it can be specifically identified and linked to an individual patient. 
• Barcoded – each unique number is both barcoded and human readable. The barcode could be used in conjunction with a trust’s EPR for tracking and traceability. 
• Peel and stick – there are six labels on each Smartsafe™ bag, five of the labels are ‘peel and stick’ so they can be entered onto a patient’s notes or the patient property book of each department as they go through the chain-of-care. 
• Wrist band – when appropriate the top of the Smartsafe™ bag can be removed and forms a numbered wrist band which can either be put on the patient or placed in the patient’s notes. 
• Rear pocket – on the small Smartsafe™ bag there is a sealable pocket, which may be used for a Cashier’s Office receipt, after other items have been placed in the bags and it has been sealed. 
• Two sizes – there are two sizes of Smartsafe™ bags. The smaller for items such as wallets, phones, tablets, dentures hearing aids or keys. The large Smartsafe™ can be used for briefcases, laptops, handbags and backpacks.
• Tamperproof seal – each Smartsafe™ is sealed with a tamperproof seal ensuring that items are kept secure. 
• Ease of use – Smartsafe™ bags are pretty self-explanatory but if required there is a short instructional video available for staff training (https://www.tsgassociates.co.uk/pages/videos/342 )
• NHS SC – both sizes of Smartsafe™ are available via NHS Supply Chain ensuring that wards and departments can easily resupply. 

In summary, when my grandmother could not find something, you always heard the, ‘Please Saint Antony, help me find….’, nothing is more frustrating and time consuming. Smartsafe™ can help you and your department become more efficient and let you focus on what you joined your organisation for, i.e. to focus on patients, their care and patient outcome.

To learn more about TSG can help you, please get in touch with us today.