On July 1, members of the Pentland Medical executive leadership team co-presented a free webinar in conjunction with Govconnect, the Patient Safety Learning charity and the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, discussing the importance of innovation and public safety throughout the Covid-19 pandemic.
The coronavirus crisis has exposed a lack of key equipment within the NHS, with a ventilator shortage being the main issue that dominated media headlines. However, other equipment shortages included a shortfall of volumetric infusion pumps, with hospitals left short of reliable methods of monitoring IV infusions with most redirected to intensive care units.
When the scale of the pandemic became clear, normal procurement practice essentially went by the wayside and overnight, procurement barriers preventing the adoption of new products and innovations were lifted.
The two Pentland Medical executives that participated in the webinar, which included chief executive managing director Stewart Munro, and sales manager Jamie Munro, used the opportunity to give a presentation on its new product: the Monidrop IV Fluid Monitor and Remote Monitoring service; consisting of Monidrop-W and IV Screen software.
The device and software work in conjunction so that nursing staff can remotely monitor all infusions on a ward or department from a central computer, tablet or mobile device.
It became clear during the pandemic that Monidrop offered a viable alternative to the Volumetric pumps which had been redirected to the frontline. Pentland Medical had first launched the product back in 2018.
Dylan Goaten, the Electronic and Biomedical Engineering [EBME] lead for the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust, appeared on the webinar to share experiences of volumetric pump shortages in Suffolk, with the Pentland Medical Monidrop device providing vital assistance.
Goaten said: “Our medical equipment library was being run down to zero at busy times in 2019 and there would be no pumps left. This was confounded by winter pressures and then again when the Covid-19 pandemic hit. We looked into our options and no reputable pump suppliers had stock, so we looked at alternatives, which is when we approached Pentland after I came across a follow-up email advert.
“The email reminded me that I had been impressed by my first in-person encounter with the Monidrop at the previous EBME expo, and it dawned on me that this product could be used for the same infusions that the volumetric pumps were being used for. Most infusions did not need volumetric pumps and the Monidrop could be used instead, thus freeing up the volumetric pumps as vital resources to go where needed.”
In a testimonial video which featured as part of the webinar, a nurse working for the West Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust added: “We have found the Monidrop devices very useful on the wards, particularly for independent patients. It is far lighter than the infusion pump and we found the timing of alarm notifications for when we needed to attend to patients far more effective. They are also incredibly useful in calculating drops.
“They have proven a real time saver for nurses and they are generally safer for both nurses and patients.”
