Vertical Markets

Hospital’s management of medicines

by Mark Rowe

At Spire Manchester Hospital, the physical security product company Abloy UK has supplied PROTEC2 CLIQ and Traka 21 for key management of medicines.

Spire Manchester Hospital is part of Spire Healthcare, a private hospital group, offering in-patient and out-patient procedures. The company recently spent £70m on a new flagship hospital in Didsbury, Manchester. At any healthcare institution, drugs need to be secured, while giving nurses convenient access. Poor management of keys, and staff using older mechanical systems can have problems locating keys to gain access to controlled drugs – wasting nursing time and affecting patient care.

Spire Manchester Hospital specified a mix of PROTEC2 CLIQ keys and cylinders which were retrofitted to a range of Bristol Maid drug cabinets around the hospital, including theatres, out-patients and several wards. Staff CLIQ keys were housed in Traka 21 key cabinets fitted across the wards.

PROTEC2 CLIQ as an access control system is based on mechanical security disc cylinders, with encrypted electronic locking and identification. Power to the lock is provided by the CLIQ key; no batteries or wires are required to either the lock or drug cabinet, making it suitable the makers say for retrofit – even for applications such as drug trolleys.

The system allows for remote key management, providing audit trails on locks and padlocks, and the ability to remove lost or stolen keys from the system, while securing the controlled drugs.

PROTEC2 CLIQ was combined with the Traka21 key management system, which provides nurses’ access to a single key for the duration of their shift. By entering a PIN code to access a specific key which they validate using the wall programming unit, they can access cabinets they’re authorised to open.

Dawn Davies, Matron and Head of Clinical Services at Spire Manchester Hospital, said: “When designing and commissioning a brand new private hospital, we wanted to ensure we had equipment at the forefront of medical technology. The systems from Abloy give us enhanced security measures and management of controlled drug storage and access. We’ve recommended the CLIQ system to other Spire Hospitals, and recently invited Abloy to our Regional Pharmacy Managers meeting to present the system as an example of best practice.”

And Aaron Ballard-Ridley, Healthcare Sales Specialist at Abloy UK, added: “We’ve had a great response from nurses to the CLIQ system. They really like having their own designated key as it means they’re not wasting time looking for keys around the ward. We provided training sessions for the nurses as an introduction to the system, and they’ve been very enthusiastic about this new innovative process for security and the convenience and time saved by having their own keys.”

Related News

Newsletter

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter to stay on top of security news and events.

© 2024 Professional Security Magazine. All rights reserved.

Website by MSEC Marketing