Medstor recently finished a major materials management project in the accident and emergency department at Blackpool Victoria Hospital. Victoria Hospital is the main hospital for Blackpool and the Fylde Coast in Lancashire, and is part of the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The work to upgrade the four resuscitation bays was undertaken as part of a general refurbishment of existing facilities to improve patient throughput and care.
A spokesman for Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “The department was very impressed by the flexibility and professionalism shown by Medstor. The works undertaken in our Emergency Room were constricted to a very tight time scale and involved numerous simultaneous restorations such as mobile X-ray installation, new flooring, new lighting, redecoration etc.
“Medstor was called upon at very short notice to supply the cabinetry and worktops to meet the four-week window we had while the ER was closed down to allow the renovation to take place. The equipment was supplied at the right price, on time and looks magnificent. The staff have been impressed by the new look ER, which provides them with a quality environment to provide emergency care to the most sick patients.”
Medstor has worked with the Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for over 15 years, and was brought into the project at Blackpool Victoria because it was able to work flexibly, incorporating the existing lead-lined partitions in each bay, essential for x-rays, into its design, rather than recommending a complete refit. This saved time, disruption and a considerable amount of money for the hospital, and is typical of the way Medstor approaches projects – the in-house design team prides itself on being able to come up with effective solutions to complex challenges.
Medstor redesigned each bay to include a double mobile unit, allowing for high volume storage with the added benefit of a worktop surface. As space was limited, the units had a drawer front, which ensured contents were protected but also easy to access. Each bay was also provided with a resus cart from Medstor’s new award-nominated Module Cart range, modified to include an IV pole and an airway/bougie holder, ensuring that vital equipment is within easy and safe reach of staff. The carts are very manoeuvrable, robust and versatile, and can be adapted to suit exactly the environment in which they will be used – in this case, castors were raised to allow the carts to straddle the feet on the mobile lead partitions. The carts are designed to support infection prevention measures, and can easily be wiped clean or removed for deep hygienic cleaning. The carts supplied to Blackpool Victoria also feature a tamper-proof security seal, guaranteeing an effective and easily monitored system for the safe storage of supplies, and replacing the hospital’s existing system. Medstor also modernised the main communal storage area in the A&E, supplying a mixture of fixed storage units and procedure trolleys.
Installing new equipment in an area like A&E, which is busy all day every day, presents a particular challenge. Medstor worked with the hospital to provide mobile storage to enable the temporary relocation of the area, and ensured the entire project was completed in just one day to minimise disruption to patients and staff.
The storage solutions Medstor has provided for Blackpool Victoria Hospital are typical of the highly effective products it designs for healthcare facilities throughout the world. Every element of each racking system or cabinet has beautifully simple, clean, sleek lines that not only complement the theatre or ward design but offer increased storage capacity, better cost efficiency through improved stock control, and dramatically enhanced infection control. As everything made by Medstor is designed and built in-house in the UK, quality is controlled from start to finish, with a dedicated team working to guarantee the most successful and aesthetic utilisation of space.
