Hospitals have too few side wards for patients with serious infections, such as MRSA and C.difficile, and one solution is to use a mobile isolation pod, such as the two shown in this video which were displayed at the excellent Infection 2009 conference in Birmingham last week.
I was stunned by the technology and thought which has gone into the designs. For example, a patient can lie in bed surrounded by a glass screen and use a remote control to decide whether he wants the glass to be clear so he has a full view of his surroundings, or prefers privacy, and at the flick of a switch, the glass turns opaque. It’s absolutely stunning.
The pods are currently being trialled at University College Hospital, London with Dr Peter Wilson. It means that they can be erected on busy wards if there are no free side rooms. Instead of beds on either side of an infectious patient being left empty, creating “bed blockingâ€, which is currently the case, those beds can then be occupied. Trials demonstrate it has improved bed occupancy by 10%.
They have also been shown to considerably improve hand washing, which is indicated by a traffic light system at the door.
Mike Phillips, from the designers Renfrew Group, takes us on a tour of these amazing pods on this video.
If it were not for costs
I a long time advocated ‘individual’ rooms for all patients with windows onto halls so that the nurses could keep an eye on all patients without having to move from their desks or enter the rooms –
of course modern technology now means that instead of blinds for ‘privacy’ we can have glass that turns clear or opaque at the push of a button on remote
Another idea I proposed to Pilkington Glass.
The World is a Wonderful place – but imaginary budget constraints are the curse of society
Fascinating technology.
Q9, I do not know how much these isolation pods cost, and that will obviously have an impact on how many any hospital can order. And even today, I imagine this technology is already being superceded.
Very interesting, the hand washing station is just brilliant.