NHS Backlog – Where Are We Now?

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A couple of years ago, we analysed the NHS backlog, including some of its underlying causes, along with the plans in place to address it. More recently, we assessed the current state of A&E waiting times across the NHS.

The UK now has a new Labour government. The 2024 Labour manifesto promised to “build an NHS fit for the future.”

In this post, we’ll look at the current state of the NHS backlog and explore Labour’s plans for addressing these challenges.

What is the NHS Backlog?

They define the backlog as “the care the NHS would normally have delivered, but which was disrupted as COVID-19 impacted service delivery”. This incorporates cancelled procedures, delayed or refused referrals, and patients on waiting lists for treatments who would ordinarily have been seen by now.

The BMA also recognises “patients who have not yet presented to the GP… due to concerns of burdening the health service…” This implies that it’s impossible to measure the full extent of the lockdown. There’s a “hidden backlog” to contend with, too.

NHS Backlog in 2024 – What Does It Look Like Right Now?

According to the latest BMA figures, more patients than ever are currently waiting for treatment. In May 2024, there were a total of 6,377,599 individual patients waiting for treatment in England alone. Almost half of these patients have been waiting for over 18 weeks, and over 300,000 have been waiting for over a year.

The BMA regularly updates their figures on the NHS backlog.

Long-Term Issues and Brand-New Challenges

The backlog can still be largely attributed to the immense disruption brought by COVID-19 and the associated lockdowns. Yet even before the pandemic struck, demand for hospital treatment was outstripping capacity.

The NHS has a long-term plan of ensuring that 92% of patients should receive treatment within 18 months of referral. The last time this target was met was in September 2015.

To make matters worse, in July 2024 a global IT outage plunged many industries into chaos. This affected many healthcare services, with GP practices warning that they’re now facing a “considerable backlog” in appointments.

The New Labour Government’s Plans For the NHS

In their election manifesto, Labour outlined their plans for the NHS as follows:

  • Cut waiting times with 40,000 more appointments each week.
  • Double the number of cancer scanners.
  • A new Dentistry Rescue Plan.
  • 8,500 additional mental health staff.
  • Return of the family doctor.

Referencing the NHS backlog, the manifesto said:

“We will return to meeting NHS performance standards. That means patients should expect to wait no longer than 18 weeks from referral for consultant-led treatment of non-urgent health conditions. This standard was achieved with the last Labour government and will be again under the next.”

Here’s how Labour plan to achieve these goals:

  • Incentivising staff to carry out additional appointments out of hours.
  • Pooling resources across neighbouring hospitals to introduce shared waiting lists to allow patients to be treated quicker.
  • Using spare capacity in the independent sector to ensure patients are diagnosed and treated more quickly.
  • “Reset relations with NHS staff” to address treatments affected by staff strikes.

What are the New Government’s Targets for the NHS Backlog?

Labour’s target is to clear the waiting time for elective treatment of over 18 weeks within five years. Analysis in the BMJ has outlined the practical, political, and financial considerations that will be necessary for Labour to achieve this target.

“Short of achieving near miraculous improvements in economic growth,” the report says, “the stark choices over NHS funding will have profound implications for the incoming government’s entire programme.”

We have already seen one of Labour’s policy pledges in action: The plan to draw from spare capacity in the independent sector to diagnose NHS patients. Since April, the Sussex Elective Co-ordination Centre has been helping over 400 NHS patients a week access private care facilities.

Yet at the time of writing, the new Labour government has been in place for less than a month. Obviously, it is still far too early to assess their success in clearing the NHS backlog. The BMA figures suggest that things are as bad as they’ve ever been. Yet hopefully, things can only get better.

Support For NHS Healthcare Providers

At Cairn Technology, we specialise in improving quality and efficiency in healthcare settings.

While we cannot help you address long waiting lists in your NHS healthcare setting, we can help you to improve staff safety and well-being while reducing turnaround times between certain procedures.

For a friendly chat about how we can help you, get in touch to talk to one of our experts today.

Capturing blood spills during Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery

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There can be quite a lot of blood when a vein is removed for use in the Coronary Artery Bypass Graft procedure, so what is needed is an absorbent product that soaks up this blood, keeping any surrounding area clean.

What’s more, any product used to absorb the blood needs to be placed against the patient, so it needs to be sterile to reduce the risk of surgical site infection in the open wound.

Why is there so much blood spilled during CABG surgery?

Coronary artery bypass graft surgery is commonly used to treat coronary heart disease.

It does this by diverting blood around narrowed or clogged sections of the major arteries to improve blood flow and oxygen supply to the heart.

Due to the nature of the surgery, there can be a lot of blood spilled during the operation. This is because a CABG involves taking a blood vessel from a part of the body such as an arm, leg or the chest.

This blood vessel is then attached to the coronary artery above and below the narrowed area or blockage.

How Cairn’s Sterile mats can help with a Coronary Artery Bypass Graft blood spill

Our Sterile DryMax Maxi mat is the ideal solution for locking away blood spills during CABG procedures. Each mat absorbs up to 6 litres of water or 2.4 litres of saline and measures 72cm x 37 cm in size.

Being sterile, the mats can be placed next to the patient near the open wound, minimising the risk of surgical site infections. By capturing drips and spills, the mat also reduces the risk of slips from any blood pooling on the floor.

Completely latex-free, this versatile mat can be placed directly beneath the patient and used flat, folded or rolled, depending on the needs of the surgical team.

Sylvia Bristow, Theatre Sister in Cardiothoracic Theatres at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield has found them very useful.

“We use the DryMax Sterile mat when taking a vein from the patient’s leg for coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery, as this procedure can be very bloody”, says Sylvia. “Not only does the DryMax Sterile mat absorb the blood, it also helps to keep the bandage clean.”

Is the Sterile DryMax Maxi mat right for you?

Are you having issues capturing blood spills during Coronary Artery Bypass Graft procedures? Why not request some free samples? Just call Cairn Technology on 0333 015 4354 or email info@cairntechnology.com.

Top 4 Considerations When Choosing an Absorbent Mat for Your Hospital

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Absorbent mats are vital for effective fluid management in hospitals. They can absorb and contain significant quantities of fluids during procedures, which can help prevent slips, trips, and falls. Plus, after procedures you can simply dispose of the mat in the appropriate waste stream. This can help prevent cross infection while making cleaning much easier, so you can significantly reduce your turnaround time between procedures.

But not all absorbent mats are quite the same. It’s important that you pick one that’s suitable for your needs. In this post, we’ll explore four key considerations for choosing the right absorbent mats for your hospital.

If you’d like to discuss your fluid management needs, our friendly experts are always on hand to help. Give us a call on 0333 015 4345 or email info@cairntechnology.com

What Level of Absorbency Do You Need?

Different mats offer different levels of absorbency. The level of absorbency you need will largely depend on the sort of procedures you’ll be carrying out. A procedure such as a  shoulder arthroscopy for example, will produce a lot of fluid, so you’ll need a mat with a high level of absorbency.

The level of absorbency you’ll need will also depend on where you intend to place the mat. If you want a mat to place on the operating theatre floor during wet procedures, it will need to be as absorbent as possible. But if you want to use a mat on a scrub room floor, then the level of absorbency will not need to be as high.

The Nature of the Procedure

Beyond your fluid management needs, think about your practical requirements during a procedure. For instance, do you just need a mat to capture fluids or will you also need to walk on it, or place a stool on it?

Or does the mat need to be placed next to the patient and therefore be sterile? Some absorbent mats are specifically designed for use in sterile environments.

Anti-Skid Absorbent Mats

If you’ll need to walk on the mat, or place a stool on it, then you’ll need your mat to be reliably anti-skid.

Look for mats with effective anti-skid backing. You could also consider a combination mat, which combines an anti-skid walkable section with a highly absorbent section, making it perfect for use in general and orthopaedic theatres. It’s a simple, single solution that gives you the best of both worlds.

How Disposable Medical Equipment Fit Into Your Environmental Policy?

Your hospital’s environmental policy might set strict guidelines about the use of disposable medical equipment, and the amount of waste you produce. The good news is that absorbent mats can play an active role in helping your hospital reduce its carbon footprint.

Go for a highly absorbent mat, for instance, and you can absorb up to 8.5 litres of water and 3.5 litres of saline with a single mat.

Or choose an absorbent mat in roll form and you can measure and cut accordingly, so that you only ever use as much or as little of the mat as you need.

We Can Help You Choose The Right Absorbent Mat For Your Needs

At Cairn Technology, we stock a full range of state-of-the-art absorbent mats for efficient and effective fluid management in hospitals.

If you’re not sure which mat is right for you, we’ll be happy to help. Get in touch, tell us about your fluid management requirements, and we can advise you on the best solution for your hospital.

Give us a call on 0333 015 4345 or email info@cairntechnology.com

The NHS Carbon Footprint Plus: 3 Ways absorbent mats can help

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The NHS Carbon Footprint Plus includes a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from supplier products, as outlined in Scope 3 of The Greenhouse Gas Protocol.

According to NHS England’s 2022 report Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service, one of the greatest areas of opportunity for a reduction in carbon emissions is through medical device suppliers.

So how can absorbent floor mats from Cairn Technology help the NHS in this area?

  1. Reduced absorbent mat waste through absorbency

Medical equipment accounts for 10% of the NHS Carbon Footprint Plus (1). So it stands to reason that any product that results in less waste than other market alternatives can help drive down this percentage.

As our T-Mat superabsorbent floor mat absorbs between 4 and 13 times as much fluid as the incontinence sheets on the market, theatre staff have to dispose of far fewer mats into clinical waste at the end of each procedure.

You can find out more about our T-Mats here: https://cairntechnology.com/product/t-mat-absorbent-floor-mat/

To make an enquiry please click here: https://cairntechnology.com/contact/

  1. Reduced absorbent mat waste through size

Another issue that theatre staff also face with absorbent floor mats is that they invariably have to use mats of a specific size.

With our DryMax XL absorbent mat for scrub rooms and theatre floors, staff can cut it to the size that they require. This is the case whether they buy boxes of the individual mats or the 50m roll with dispenser.

By cutting off only the size of mat required every time, theatres can see a significant reduction in the amount of mat waste throughout the year.

You can find out more about our DryMax XL mats here: https://cairntechnology.com/product/drymax-xl-mats-box-50/

Or for the DryMax XL on a Roll click here: https://cairntechnology.com/product/drymax-xl-roll-absorbent-mat/

Or to make an enquiry, please click here: https://cairntechnology.com/contact/

  1. An absorbent mat supplier committed to supporting NHS Net Zero targets

Cairn Technology is committed to helping the NHS meet or exceed its commitment on net zero emissions before the end of the decade.

With the biggest source of carbon emissions from medical equipment being in acute care, our absorbent mat products can have a real impact in this area.

Not only can our mats help to reduce waste within hospitals, as a supplier we are also looking to reduce our own carbon footprint in terms of the Greenhouse Gas Protocol’s Scope, 1, 2 and 3 emissions.

From minimising the amount of paper that we use in the office, to recycling our packaging where possible and encouraging the use of electric and hybrid vehicles, we are already on the path to a greener business model in support of our NHS.

 The NHS Carbon Footprint Plus

For more information on how our absorbent mats, surgical instruments and other products and services can help support the NHS Carbon Footprint Plus keep an eye on our blog.

 

References:
  • https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2022/07/B1728-delivering-a-net-zero-nhs-july-2022.pdf

Greenwashing in Healthcare – How to Take Effective Action

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In recent years, growing numbers of healthcare providers have been accused of “greenwashing”.

In this post we’ll explore what greenwashing in healthcare is, and what it looks like. We’ll also explore some ways you can ensure your environmental performance delivers in practice, and not just on paper.

What is Greenwashing?

“Greenwashing” essentially means that there’s a disconnect between your environmental policies and your environmental practices. It means that you might describe your services and your operations as environmentally responsible and sustainable, when in reality your practices are not nearly as green as they seem.

Why Does Greenwashing Happen?

Greenwashing isn’t always intentional. Sometimes it can happen by accident, when managers overlook certain processes, or when staff members or service users do not properly follow certain procedures.

But increasingly, people want to know that the services they use are taking steps to address the environmental impact of their operations. So if you claim to be green, then you must ensure you deliver on your promises. Otherwise, you could be misleading the public. And in healthcare settings, overlooking the environmental impact of certain processes can also carry some health risks.

What Does Greenwashing Look Like in Healthcare?

Your healthcare setting might set an environmental policy, and you might make certain declarations, and set certain aims, in your internal documents and communications. You might also communicate your environmental goals to your staff and patients, via onsite posters, leaflets, brochures, and even press releases.

If your environmental impact does not meet the standards you set in these materials, then you might be accused of greenwashing.

Examples of Greenwashing in Healthcare

How Can Healthcare Take Effective Environmental Action?

The need for effective infection prevention and control can make going green particularly challenging for healthcare settings. For example, how can a hospital commit to reducing waste when the Standard Infection Control Precautions advise using single-use items as often as possible? How can a care home embrace recycling when PPE best practice often advises disposing of items immediately after use?

The answer – and it is by no means an easy one – is to review all of your operations, from start to finish, and look for any areas where you might make any improvements to your environmental performance. And you need to do this without compromising on your operational efficiency, or your infection prevention and control processes.

Once you have reviewed your processes and established some possible areas of improvement, you need to communicate these to all staff at all levels. Your staff will be accustomed to doing things in a certain way. They might need some additional training if they need to get used to a greener way to complete a certain process.

Case Study – The Green Theatre Checklist

For some examples of how healthcare teams can improve their environmental performance without compromising on care standards or safety, take a look at the Green Theatre Checklist. This is a set of guidelines for how operating theatre teams can address their carbon footprints and work towards sustainability in surgery.

It recommends actions for every stage of surgery, from anaesthetic care to postoperative. Guidelines include:

  • Sourcing materials as locally as possible, to cut down on carbon emissions during transit.
  • Using “greener” substances wherever possible, such as sevoflurane instead of isoflurane.
  • Switching to reusable equipment wherever possible. Your PPE may always have to be single-use. But other equipment, such as underbody heaters, slide sheets, and trays, can be reusable.
  • Minimise waste. For example, follow a policy of “don’t open it unless you need it” when it comes to drugs and single-use equipment.
  • Reduce your water and energy consumption. This could include switching to automatic or peddle controlled taps. And when it comes to hand hygiene, adopt a “rub not scrub” approach: A water scrub to start the day, and alcohol rub for all subsequent procedures.

You can access and download the full Green Theatre Checklist.

Case Study – “Toxic Air at the Door of the NHS.”

The Toxic Air at the Door of the NHS report revealed that over 2,000 UK health centres are located in areas where the atmospheric concentration of particulate matter exceeds the World Health Organization’s recommended limits. This accounts for around 25% of all hospitals in the UK.

Particulate matter – including PM2.5 and PM10 – is a hazardous air pollutant that can contribute to, or worsen, a number of health conditions when inhaled. Road traffic is a major source of particulate matter. According to one study, over 20,000 respiratory and cardiovascular hospital admissions each year can be linked to air pollution.

Hospitals and healthcare settings might address this problem through setting strict onsite speed limits, and through banning smoking on the premises. Though as we suggested earlier, unless you also take measures to address the air quality inside your healthcare setting, then you might reasonably be accused of greenwashing.

There are two strategies you can adopt to improve the onsite air quality throughout your setting:

We Can Help You Deliver On Your Environmental Policies

At Cairn Technology, we can advise on switching to products and services that will help you cut down on unnecessary waste without compromising on your infection control or your operational efficiency.

We have a wide selection of reusable high-quality surgical instruments. Make the switch from single-use instruments and help to cut down on the waste associated with their mass production and disposal.

Take a look at our super absorbent floor mats, which cut down on the waste associated with higher volume production and waste of mats with much lower absorbency, such as inco pads.

We can also provide specialist air quality monitoring services, and we stock a complete range of hospital-grade air purifiers.

Get in touch with our friendly team of expert consultants to discuss your requirements today.

What To Do After Being Exposed to Infected Bodily Fluid

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We recently published a guide to safely and effectively cleaning up bodily fluids. This guide largely focused on surfaces and medical devices. But what should you do if you are exposed to infected bodily fluids?

When it comes to infection control, prevention is everything.

Standard Infection Control Precautions and PPE

Follow your Standard Infection Control Precautions (SICPs) and you can significantly reduce the risk of infection in your hospital or healthcare setting.

One precaution is particularly important for reducing the risk of exposure to infected bodily fluids: Wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) that provides adequate protection against the risks associated with whatever task you’re undertaking. This means you should consider certain key factors when choosing PPE for every given scenario.

Procedures for Correct PPE Storage and Use

As well as choosing the right PPE for every circumstance, you should also follow certain procedures when it comes to storing, putting on, and taking off PPE:

  • Stick to single-use PPE unless specified by the manufacturer.
  • Store your PPE close to the point of use.
  • Also store it in a clear and dry area until you need to use it.
  • Pay attention to any expiry dates on the packaging.
  • Change your PPE immediately after seeing each patient, and immediately following every task or procedure.
  • Take off the PPE in the correct order, to keep contact with skin to a minimum.
  • Ensure you dispose of used PPE in the correct waste stream.

Dealing With an Exposure Incident

The Health and Safety Executive has guidelines on dealing with, managing, and reporting an exposure incident in the workplace. Their guidelines refer explicitly to incidents involving blood-borne viruses (BBV), but the policies and procedures could apply to exposure to any bodily fluid.

Immediate Response to an Exposure Incident

  • Wash any area exposed to blood or bodily fluids copiously with water – particularly if the eyes or mouth has been exposed.
  • If a puncture wound gets exposed to blood or bodily fluids, the guidance advised that “the wound should be gently encouraged to bleed, but not scrubbed or sucked.” Following this, you should wash the area with soap and water.

Evaluate the Exposure Incident

Consider the following factors to determine the potential for infection transmission:

  • What type of bodily fluid is involved? Different types of bodily fluid carry different infection risks. If the person carries a known infection risk, then you should consider all bodily fluids to be potential vectors for infection.
  • What was exposed to the bodily fluid? Skin is impervious to most viruses, so long as it’s intact. But mucous membranes, such as the eyes and the mouth, are vulnerable to infection transmission.
  • Was the exposure direct or indirect? By direct, we mean the bodily fluid was transmitted directly from the patient to someone else, such as via a cough, a sneeze, or spilled blood. Indirect exposure can come from handling devices or other objects that have been contaminated.
  • Was PPE Involved? See above for some guidelines regarding PPE.
  • What happened next? Were you able to contain the exposure risk? For example, were you able to administer immediate first aid – i.e. thorough washing of the infected area? Were you able to clean and safely dispose of any contaminated objects?

Following Steps Depending on Potential Risk

Having evaluated the incident, and the possible infection risks, you might carry out a number of interventions.

The HSE guidance related to possible BBV infections, so details what sort of infections you should test for, and how often you should test for them.

For how to manage outbreaks of other types of infections, see our guide to the most common hospital acquired infections.

Depending on the type of infection, you may also have to report to certain government agencies following the exposure risk.

Preventing The Spread of Infection in Hospitals and Healthcare Settings

At Cairn Technology, we’ve been helping both NHS and private hospitals prevent and control infections for over 20 years with a number of innovative products and solutions.

For example, we stock a full range of absorbent mats for hospitals, which can effectively trap and contain spillages allowing for safe and clean disposal afterwards. Not only can this help you prevent exposure to bodily fluids, but it can also help reduce the risks of trips, slips, and falls.

We also offer our body fluid spill kit, designed to clear up smaller spills of bodily fluids quickly and safely.

Want to discuss how we can help you control infections in your hospital? Get in touch to talk to one of our friendly experts today.

Bodily Fluid Clean Up Procedure

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In all healthcare settings, bodily fluids are a major vector for spreading harmful pathogens. For this reason, an effective bodily fluid clean up procedure is one of the 10 Standard Infection Control Precautions (SICP).

In this post we will outline the advised bodily fluid clean up procedure while also discussing certain solutions that will help you stay on top of your infection prevention duties without compromising on your operational efficiency.

Potentially Hazardous Bodily Fluids in Healthcare Settings

Any bodily fluid can contain germs which can cause infection. Because it’s not always clear whether a person has an infection, you should take adequate precautions wherever you might encounter:

  • Blood
  • Faeces
  • Saliva
  • Vomit
  • Nasal discharges
  • Urine

The Bodily Fluid Clean Up Procedure

  • You should clean up any bodily fluid spillages immediately.
  • Wear adequate PPE. You should always wear gloves. If there’s a risk of splashing, also wear an apron. Assess the need for facial and eye protection depending on the circumstances.
  • Choose the right cleaning product. The best cleaning products for bodily fluids combine detergent and disinfectant, making them effective against both viruses and bacteria. If this is not possible, clean with a detergent first, followed by a disinfectant. Browse our range of hospital-grade cleaning products.
  • Always follow the manufacturer’s guidelines and take care not to use any products that are unsuitable for the body fluid you’re cleaning. For example, if the cleaning product contains any trace of chlorine, then it cannot be used to clean urine.
  • Use disposable paper towels or cloths, and dispose of them immediately and safely after use, in the correct waste stream.
  • Always have specialist spillage kits on hand so you can safely and quickly clean high-risk bodily fluids including blood, vomit, and urine.

Access the official NHS safe management of blood and body fluids guidelines.

Speciality Bodily Fluid Spill Kits

We stock a range of specialist spill kits for healthcare settings. Our range includes bodily fluid spill kits  to effectively clean and decontaminate affected areas.

Browse our full range of spill kits.

We also offer detailed training to help your staff understand and respond to the spill risks they face in their work. Get in touch for more information.

How To Make Your Fluid Control More Effective in a Healthcare Setting

When it comes to spillages of bodily fluids, effective infection prevention and control depends on acting as quickly as possible. Our spill kits can make a huge difference here, and we also stock an advanced range of absorbent floor mats for hospitals and other healthcare settings.

Our absorbent mats will help you optimise your fluid management for dependable infection prevention and control. They will also help you avoid additional health and safety risks, such as slips and trips, while greatly optimising your turnaround times.

For example, our T-Mat absorbent floor mat can absorb up to 8.5 litres of water or 3.5 litres of saline. It gels liquids in minutes, binding the fluid hygienically and becoming dry to the touch. This means you can quickly, easily, and safely dispose of the mat in the appropriate clinical waste stream.

Browse our full range of bodily fluid management solutions for hospitals and other healthcare settings.

 

What is Clinical Waste and How To Dispose of it Safely?

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In this post we’ll list some examples of clinical waste before discussing how you can safely dispose of it. We’ll also explore some solutions for fast and effective clinical waste disposal that may help you improve operational efficiency in your healthcare setting.

What is Clinical Waste?

Clinical waste is any waste that contains infectious, or potentially infectious, compounds derived from either medical treatments or biological research.

Clinical waste might also be referred to as biomedical, healthcare or hospital waste.

Examples of Clinical Waste

  • Discarded sharps. Whether they’re contaminated or not, all discarded sharps are considered medical waste, partly because they can cause injury and/or infection when they’re not properly disposed of. Examples include needles, scalpels, lancets, and any other device that could penetrate the skin.
  • Human or animal tissue. This includes identifiable body parts and organs, body fluids such as blood, and used bandages and dressings.
  • Used medical supplies. This includes any gloves or other items of PPE, whether they’ve been contaminated with body fluids or not.
  • Laboratory waste. Including unwanted microbiological cultures and stocks.
  • General waste from a medical or laboratory setting. Due to the risk of cross-contamination, any other waste that’s recognisably from a medical or laboratory setting should also be considered clinical waste and handled accordingly. Examples include packaging, unused bandages, and infusion kits.

The Risks of Clinical Waste

Many types of clinical waste carry an infection risk. Even if an item does not appear to have any visible signs of soiling, if it was used in a medical or laboratory setting, then it may be harbouring pathogens that are invisible to the naked eye. Coming into contact with clinical waste could therefore encourage the spread of communicable diseases.

Clinical waste can be harmful in other ways, too. For example, whether they’ve been used or not, discarded sharps can seriously injure anyone who comes into contact with them.

How to Safely Dispose of Clinical Waste

To protect the public and the environment, clinical waste must be processed to allow for safe handling and disposal. This usually requires incineration, to destroy any pathogens and sharps in the waste, and to make any source materials unrecognisable. Autoclaves can also be used to sterilise medical waste before it’s safe for disposal.

Clinical waste is usually disposed of in a dedicated environment using specialist equipment. As most healthcare settings and laboratories do not have the space or budget for such measures, clinical waste is usually accumulated onsite before being collected for offsite disposal.

As such, for most medical and laboratory settings, managing clinical waste is usually a case of using the right PPE to handle or clean any waste items or tissue, before disposing of the waste in the appropriate steam.

What are Waste Streams?

A standard infection control precaution is to maintain four separate waste streams, each of which is colour coded. Clinical waste should be disposed of based on the infection risk it carries. It’s classed as orange or light blue if it’s low-risk or “laboratory” waste, or yellow if it carries a high-risk of infection. Healthcare settings should also make use of sharp boxes to safely collect used sharps.

The containers for collecting and transporting clinical waste are usually designed to be as robust as possible, to prevent any tearing, spilling, and contamination. For example, rigid boxes are generally used for sharps.

Effective Clinical Waste Management for Hospitals and Other Healthcare Settings

Safely managing your clinical waste is a critical part of any infection prevention and control strategy. Certain techniques and equipment can make clinical waste management a lot safer and a lot easier, which in turn can improve your hospital’s operational efficiency.

For example, use absorbent mats to capture fluids during surgical procedures, or to contain splashes when you’re scrubbing up. The T-Mat, for example, gels liquids and becomes dry to the touch within minutes. It hygienically binds fluids, allowing for safe, quick, and easy disposal in the appropriate waste steam. Through cutting down on the time you spend cleaning and decontaminating, the T-Mat can significantly improve your turnaround time between procedures.

As well as a range of absorbent mats, we also stock a selection of clinical waste disposal kits. Our range includes the safe, sturdy and dependable Microb-in Lab waste Disposal container case, and specialist Biohazard Spill Kits and Body Fluid Spill Kits.

Get in touch to discuss how we can support you in safe and effective clinical waste management.

Operating Theatre Must-Have Equipment Checklist

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Three things are vital to delivering an efficient operating theatre:

In this post, we’ll discuss the must-have equipment for any operating theatre.

Why Does Equipment Make a Difference in Operating Theatres?

Obviously, all operating theatre procedures depend upon specialist surgical equipment. You need surgical equipment you can depend on. But it’s just as important to carefully consider the rest of the equipment you use in the operating theatre.

Between each procedure, you’ll have to clean, decontaminate, or sterilise the operating theatre environment, your surgical instruments, and your medical equipment.

Any equipment you use will either be reusable or disposable. With single-use equipment, so long as it’s adequately stored and handled, you can use it during the procedure safe in the knowledge that it’s clean and sterile, and simply dispose of it in the appropriate waste channel following the procedure. But with reusable equipment, you’ll have to take appropriate steps to ensure everything’s adequately processed before and after each procedure.

In this way, the specific equipment you choose for your operating theatre can make a huge difference to your patient outcomes, and to your turnaround time.

Your choice of equipment can also influence your operational efficiency (through reducing clutter while providing ease of access, for example), and the comfort and safety of your theatre team.

Operating Theatre Must-Have Equipment Checklist

Surgical Lights

For illuminating the surgical site while eliminating shadows. Surgical lights can either be LED or halogen. Of the two, LED is more energy efficient. It also provides a brighter, whiter light, and it generates less heat, which can make things more comfortable for surgical teams.

Operating Table

The table upon which the patient lies for the duration of the procedure. Operating tables are often adjustable and with moving parts, to help the surgical team position the patient as necessary for the procedure.

Equipment Management Systems

These provide storage and ease of access for all the necessary surgical equipment, alongside housing for wires and cables.

This can improve operational efficiency through allowing the surgical team to easily access the equipment they need as soon as they need it. These systems can also reduce clutter, helping to remove tripping and slipping hazards.

Operating theatres may also contain warming cabinets, which can be used to keep fluids, linens, and blankets warm, to help reduce the risk of hypothermia during certain procedures.

Surgical Displays

Display systems can either provide up-to-date information about the patient’s status, or they can provide an intricate, magnified view of the patient’s inner anatomy during certain invasive procedures.

Surgical displays may be wall-mounted, or they may be attached to arms or columns.

Surgical Instruments

A surgeon’s tools of the trade. Surgical instruments are used exclusively in sterile spaces, and they’re specifically designed to penetrate a patient’s skin or mucous membrane. Different procedures will require different instruments.

We specialise in supplying high quality instruments for use across a broad range of surgical disciplines. If you’d like to discuss your surgical instrument requirements, get in touch to talk to an expert today.

Scrub Sinks

Operating theatre teams use scrub sinks to wash their hands and forearms before performing surgical procedures. Good hand hygiene is an essential part of effective infection prevention and control in operating theatres.

This is one area where the specific choice of equipment can make a huge difference to your theatre’s operational efficiency. An absorbent floor mat in the theatre or scrub room can help reduce slippery floors and can also reduce turnaround times between procedures.

The most superabsorbent mat, the T-Mat, can absorb up to 8.5 litres of liquid during a procedure, and afterwards your team can quickly and easily dispose of it in the clinical waste. This will dramatically cut down on your cleaning time, with no need for any noisy, time-consuming suction devices and tubing.

We Can Help You Deliver Exceptional Care Quality Standards in the Operating Theatre

Cairn Technology are approved suppliers to both NHS and private healthcare providers. We specialise in helping operating theatre teams improve efficiency and care quality standards.

As well as stocking a range of surgical instruments and specialist infection control products, we can provide expert advice on improving operational effectiveness in the theatre. Get in touch to discuss our products and services with  one of our friendly experts today.

Staffing Issues & Safe Staffing Levels in Operating Theatres

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The healthcare sector is currently facing severe staffing shortages. This is contributing to a number of problems, including a huge backlog of care, and long ambulance waiting times.

It goes without saying that staff shortages can have a negative impact on the quality-of-care hospitals and other healthcare settings can deliver. Yet there are some areas of the hospital where staffing levels can make the difference between life and death.

In this post we’ll discuss safe staffing levels in operating theatres, and discuss some strategies for increasing the efficiency of your department.

Safe Staffing Levels in Operating Theatres

It takes a huge team of practitioners, specialists, and support staff to run an operating theatre. Recent operating room staffing guidelines suggested placing limits on staff work schedules. They advised scheduling no more than 12 hours a day, no more than three consecutive days of 12-hour shifts, and no more than 60 hours a week.

Knock-On Impact of Staff Shortages

Staff shortages in the operating theatre make it difficult to devise optimum rotas. This means that any available staff will inevitably be overstretched and overworked, which will lead to a number of problems:

  • Stress, exhaustion, and anxiety. Working long hours in a complex environment like an operating theatre will take its toll on practitioners’ mental health. And when long hours become the rule rather than the exception, practitioners risk burnout, and some may feel that they have no choice but to quit.
  • Lack of learning and development. Operating theatre teams look out for each other, which includes helping new members of the team learn on the job. When everyone’s overworked, there’ll be little time for learning and development opportunities.
  • Delayed or cancelled operations. If the staff isn’t there to carry out the operations, the operations will not take place. Many patients may face excessive waits for critical operations.
  • Longer turnaround time between procedures. An understaffed operating theatre will not be able to run at optimum efficiency. There may be fewer procedures carried out each day, with much longer turnaround times between each procedure.

How Bad is the Current Operating Theatre Staffing Situation?

The latest NHS figures show that, as of November 2022, there were 3% more professionally qualified clinical staff in the NHS compared to the previous year. Though the NHS’s staffing crisis is showing signs of improvement, the increased staffing may not be enough to meet demand.

In January 2023, in response to industrial action across the UK, the government discussed plans to introduce new legislation for “minimum safety levels” in a range of sectors, including healthcare. Such legislation may introduce a minimum legal staffing level for operating theatres and other departments.

Improving the Efficiency of Your Operating Theatre

The NHS Productive Operating Theatre strategy includes a number of initiatives that operating theatre managers can adopt to improve the efficiency of their departments. You can read our full guidance to this strategy here.

Adopting these strategies might be easier said than done when you’re facing staffing level issues. Yet when it comes to improving operating theatre efficiency, small things can make a big difference.

At Cairn Technology, we’re here to help you run your operating theatre more efficiently and effectively. We have a number of products and services to help you do that, and a team of experts on hand to give you the advice you need.

For example, our absorbent floor mats can help to reduce your turnaround time between procedures. They can absorb spillages during operations, gelling liquid and becoming dry to the touch, allowing for non-drip disposal in the clinical waste. As well as reducing the risk of slips and trips, absorbent floor mats can drastically cut town on the amount of time spent cleaning between operations, which can contribute to improved efficiency for your whole department.

Whether you want a consultation on effective infection control, or some advice on improving operational effectiveness in the theatre, our experts are here to help.

Get in touch to talk to one of our experts today.