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Design Bugs Out prototype for Wipes

Design Bugs Out

The Helen Hamlyn Centre designed six practical solutions to improve hygiene and improve patient safety in hospitals as part of the Design Bugs Out initiative.

The six prototypes were launched at the Design Council alongside other equipment and furniture aimed at helping the fight against MRSA and other Healthcare Associated Infections (HCAIs).

The Helen Hamlyn Centre prototypes were:

  • An 'intelligent' mattress that changes colour when it becomes compromised by body fluids.
  • A Cannula Time Tracker, a self-timing cannula (tube for delivering fluids to the patient) with an indicator telling staff when the intravenous line needs to be changed.
  • A curtain clip for cubicle curtains which, through a unique design and magnetic mechanism, provide an easily sanitised 'grab-zone' and also keep the curtains securely closed.
  • A wipeable, polythene-covered blood-pressure cuff with magnetic closures, instead of hard-to-clean Velcro fastenings.
  • A redesign of the Pulse Oximeter, the oxygen finger clip, with the number of working parts reduced for easy cleaning.
  • A simple, clip-on Wipe Dispenser (illustrated above) that gives patients easy access to cleaning wipes so they can play their own part in keeping things clean.

The Design Council was commissioned to lead the Design Bugs Out project by the Department of Health as part of its HCAI Technology Innovation Programme. The programme aims to speed up the development and adoption of new and novel technologies to help combat HCAIs, especially MRSA and C.difficile.

David Kester, Chief Executive of the Design Council, said: 'MRSA and C.difficile dominate headlines and raise concerns for us all. Design Bugs Out has demonstrated that a little bit of good design can go a long way to providing simple, practical solutions based on the real needs of patients and hospital staff. While the designers and manufacturers deserve the big plaudits, the NHS also deserves a pat on the back for recognising design as a midwife for innovation.'

Through a national competition the Design Council appointed some of the UK top designers and manufacturers, renowned for design icons from Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class airline seats to Herman Miller chairs and Parker pens, to work on the furniture and porter's chair.

A specialist healthcare design team from the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art, developed the designs for everyday equipment.

The design challenges were identified following extensive research in hospitals across the UK involving nurses, patients, cleaners, porters and other healthcare staff.

A panel of the UK's most respected experts in the fields of design, healthcare, microbiology, nursing and patient care was assembled to assess which items in the hospital environment, if redesigned, could have the most potential to reduce patient's exposure to HCAIs through contact with their immediate surroundings.

Health Minister Ann Keen said: 'We are determined to create a pioneering NHS in which this type of innovative activity can flourish, so I am delighted that we have been able to work with the Design Council on the Design Bugs Out programme. Patients rightly expect hospitals to be clean, safe and comfortable. We know that if things are designed with infection prevention in mind and made from modern materials they will be easier to clean. These new designs are good news for staff and good news for patients.'

Senior Research Fellow Ed Matthews led the Helen Hamlyn Centre's patient safety research team on the project and Sally Halls and Grace Davey worked on the designs.