Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust Improves Inventory Management with Zebra

Zebra Technologies announced that Taunton and Somerset National Health Service (NHS) Foundation Trust is using the Zebra MC18 mobile computer and technology from Zebra partner, Ingenica Solutions, for inventory management.
 
Based in the UK, the Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust implemented an electronic system that automatically replenishes inventory, replacing an existing manual process that led to overstocking and inefficiencies. Similarly, the Trust wanted to minimize the involvement of clinical teams in forecasting and product quality assurance so they could focus more time on patient care.
 
The Trust implemented Ingenica Solutions’ 360 IM for the management of stock and replenishment. It has been deployed in 16 theatres across eight locations including the head and neck theatres, central stores, orthopaedical theatres and general theatres, and day surgery, intense therapy unit, high dependency unit, and audiology.
 
The Zebra MC18 has the ability to scan multiple barcode formats and adjust in real-time product levels in Ingenica’s inventory management solution.
 
The solution allows clinical teams to undertake several activities that previously could not be achieved. Now when a health care assistant or scrub staff member removes an item and scans its barcode, the stock count is automatically updated within the specific location. The same applies when an item is returned.
 
The entire deployment has realized benefits for the Trust, including a 90% reduction in the time clinicians spend engaging in stock ordering and replenishment in the head and neck theatre. The solution has also reduced the level of storage space used, improved stock control and visibility, and ultimately improved patient care.
 
“This deployment is proof of the powerful benefits that clinical mobility can have at multiple levels of care,” Wayne Miller, healthcare director EMEA, Zebra Technologies, noted. “Not only are there obvious cost and operational savings in the way stock is managed, but it also reduces the time NHS clinicians spend overseeing the supply chain. This means they can spend more time on improving the quality of patient care.”