Two more NHS trusts have chosen Avensys UK to look after their community-based medical devices, with services including asset auditing, equipment servicing and repair, and the Avensys online asset management database.
Avensys UK already works for a large number of trusts, servicing and maintaining their medical equipment, both in hospitals and in the community.
Now Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust and Dudley and Walsall Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust have appointed the company to look after their community equipment.
Avensys UK has been appointed to audit, maintain and repair all of Coventry and Warwickshire’s 2,200 community-based medical devices, which are located across 50 sites. The company is also advising on equipment procurement and disposal. For Dudley and Walsall, the company will be looking after 549 items across 26 sites.
Avensys already services and repairs the community-based devices for a number of NHS trusts, including Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, and Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust. Its appointment by two additional organisations means that the company will be maintaining a total of 35,000 medical devices located in the community, in addition to a further 30,000 located in hospitals.
Avensys UK managing director, Rob Strange, said: “With our MoD background and training academy providing a wide range of CPD-certified medical equipment training courses at all levels, we are highly qualified to provide maintenance and repair services across all medical equipment. <.p>
“A full maintenance and repair history is maintained for every medical device on our secure, award-winning database that clients can access at any time. In addition, Avensys provides emergency breakdown cover for all equipment 365 days a year, plus advice on equipment procurement and disposal, as well as being a leading medical equipment training provider.”
One trust already working in partnership with Avensys to achieve best practice in the service and maintenance of medical devices is Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust – a non-acute community mental health organisation.
A spokesman for the trust’s estates department, said: “Following various trust changes, equipment maintenance was fragmented by different areas. It was decided to bring all equipment maintenance together to reduce any potential risks and to allow estates to monitor the management of equipment more effectively.
“Avensys began by undertaking a full asset survey combined with servicing equipment identified across all sites throughout the trust, creating an online database of equipment recording maintenance dates. This allows estates to view the status, range and location of equipment at any one time, and gives a clear overview of the equipment being used within the trust to enable more-effective purchase planning.
“Like many trusts we have found over the years that we have bought different types of equipment which perform the same task. This can lead to additional training needs for our medical teams as they move around the trust working in different locations. With Avensys’ input, we are using the database to help with future purchasing decisions to standardise equipment that supports our clinical requirements.
“Avensys has now been carrying out maintenance and repair for over a year and the trust is able to use the data collected to be better informed with regards to equipment age, faults and user errors.”