Media Release

MEDSTOR COMPLETES ITU TRANSFORMATION PROJECT AT TAMESIDE GENERAL HOSPITAL

Tameside General Hospital is an acute general hospital situated in Ashton-under Lyne, close to the headquarters of materials management specialist, Medstor. When the Materials Management Team at Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust (TGICFT) wanted to improve storage across the

Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU), it chose to work compliantly with a company that has completed many similar installs across NHS Trusts in Greater Manchester – Medstor.

The ITU Transformation Project

The refitting of the ITU needed to clearly demonstrate the benefits of a streamlined materials management system and to quantify what savings could be expected thanks to improved efficiencies. Medstor provided a range of HTM 71 cabinetry that offers the flexibility to store everything in the one room. Units were standard full-height and open-fronted rather than having doors. Packed full of Medstor’s unique tray-and-liner system, which allows a large number of consumables to be stored safely and accessed easily, the cabinets incorporate twin-slot upright shelving for bulkier boxed items.

In addition, the units provided have a particular bespoke element, developed by Medstor’s in-house design team. They feature an extended plinth at the base, so items that need to be kept off the floor, such as sharps bins, can be stored securely but also accessed quickly when needed.

The Medstor installations team carried out all work in a live environment, moving stock while causing minimum disruption to staff. Thanks to close organisation and communication between the Medstor team, TGICFT Procurement Team, and everyone else in the ITU, this was achieved, and the project was delivered on time and within budget.

A successful outcome

The Materials Management Team was able to report back on the success of the ITU Transformation Project to

the Trust, justifying the initial expenditure by highlighting several key areas of improvement that can also be repeated across other hospitals:

• Substantial cost savings
• Number of stocked lines almost halved
• Stronger working relationship with clinical staff
• Higher level of stock resiliency with minimal stock-outs
• Unboxed product on shelves for increased stock visibility
• Correct training given to the Materials Management Team
• Robust stock escalation processes

Beautiful, practical, efficient solutions

The storage solutions Medstor provided for the ITU at Tameside General Hospital are typical of the highly effective products it designs for healthcare facilities throughout the world. Every element of each racking system or cabinet has beautifully simple, clean, sleek lines that not only complement the theatre or ward design but offer increased storage capacity, better cost efficiency through improved stock control, and dramatically enhanced infection control.

As everything made by Medstor is designed and built in-house in the UK, with some final assembly taking place in the receiving country if products are being exported, quality is controlled from start to finish, with a dedicated team working to guarantee the most successful and aesthetic utilisation of space.