Medstor, which specialises in medical storage solutions, recently completed a major project at North Devon District Hospital, refurbishing the anaesthetic rooms, prep rooms and surrounding storage areas of seven operating theatres. Medstor has a flourishing relationship with the hospital, having been involved with many initiatives over recent years to improve and streamline practice and storage capacity in various departments. With its focus on combining the highest manufacturing standards with design-led, stylish storage solutions, Medstor’s products are both highly effective and ideally suited to the modern hospital environment, and were the perfect choice when North Devon District Hospital wanted to bring storage in the theatre area in line with that in the rest of the hospital.
Due to the nature of the area, all seven theatres had to be closed during the refit and all work carried out over weekends. However, the emergency theatre had to remain accessible at all times, so arrangements were made to access and use an alternative anaesthetic room and prep room if necessary. In addition, all access points between the emergency theatre and the points of installation were taped up to prevent dust entering, so the theatre could be used safely in an emergency. Installation was spread over two months and ran to a strict schedule to ensure the theatres could be opened on the Monday of each week. Speed was of the essence, and a quick, well-managed and well-executed refit meant that all the careful planning paid off, and the sealing down of doors and heightened infection control and prevention mechanisms put in place were not put to the test.
Phil Humphrey, Capital Building Manager at the Northern Devon Healthcare NHS Trust, was very happy with the way the project was handled throughout, saying, “Our facilities team was pleased to work with Medstor to ensure that the work was completed within the agreed timeframe. Medstor deliveries were arranged to suit the project programme and Medstor’s installation team was well organised and efficient, working through each theatre area over the weekend to ensure business as usual on each Monday morning.”
Corridor opposite Theatre
Medstor installed a variety of products from its large portfolio, including base and wall cabinets, worktops, and full height cabinets. The practical and stylish cabinets ensure easy location of goods and eliminate stock-outs, and are perfect for high volume storage needs and organising supplies quickly. Everything in the range can be customised to meet exactly each hospital’s requirements – in the case of North Devon District Hospital, units were fitted with a mixture of clear and solid polycarbonate doors, to allow easy identification of contents where required. Maureen Rothery, Acting Deputy Theatre Manager at the hospital, says, “The new Medstor units have been a great asset to the operating theatres at North Devon District Hospital. They have improved the patient environment as well as allowing the department to organise its stock holding levels and improve stock rotation.”
The storage solutions Medstor has provided for North Devon District 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.
