A major health board of NHS Scotland, Grampian provides health and social care services to 500,000 people in Aberdeenshire and Moray.
Requirements:
Grampian moved three sites with 400 patients from the Foresterhill hospital to a new emergency care centre on the same site.
Thousands of items, including patient beds, operating theatre equipment, electronic patient monitoring systems, IT equipment and patient records were moved or disposed of.
The move was required to take place within four weeks.
The project included a patient move, including relevant effects and equipment.
Planning:
Surveys were conducted, including extensive contingency planning.
A move plan was developed, taking into consideration the dependency needs of certain departments, requiring moving in a particular order to ensure minimal disruption to service delivery.
Solution:
A project team was assembled, including Pickfords Business Solutions and NHS staff, to ensure smooth, consistent delivery throughout the project.
A system was put in place to ensure that, for every major piece of equipment personnel were assigned as senders, ensuring the removal of said item from one of the existing sites, and others as receivers, overseeing the installation of the item in the new centre.
Special consideration was made to ensure A&E was able to continue operations uninterrupted. This included major removals being carried out off-peak at 2am, flexible working during weekdays and weekends, and ensuring clear parking and access routes for emergency vehicles and patients.
Sixteen crew members and two vehicles were used during the project, as well as approximately 4,500 packing boxes. These were brand new and disposed of after use to ensure that any potential spreading of infection was eliminated.
Result:
The move project was delivered on time and on budget.
As a result of the project, Pickfords Business Solutions is now a contracted supplier for ongoing patient moves for NHS Grampian.