FOI240149: Patient monitoring systems and contracts

Released 17 June 2024

Request:

We would like to place a Freedom of Information request, wishing to obtain an Install Base report for Monitoring systems within general wards at your NHS hospitals. We are specifically looking for the following information: 

1. Hospital Name
2. Hospital Postcode 
3. General ward monitoring OEM  
4. Model
5. Installation date (Please provide year of installation, where various please provide number installed within each specific year)
6. How many beds in your general ward
7. Is your general ward monitor connected to an EPR 
8. Who is your EPR supplier 

System Definitions: 

• EPR – An electronic patient/health record is a digital version of a patient’s paper chart. 
• OEM – original equipment manufacturer e.g. Philips 
• General Ward monitoring – A general ward monitor also known as a vital signs monitor or a spot check monitor is typically used to track a patients vital signs and overall wellbeing sporadically. A few examples of such include Philips EarlyVue VS30, Mindray VS900 and GE Portratin VSM. 

Assistance provided to applicant under section 16 [duty to assist] on 28 May 2024:

Can you please clarify what you mean by ‘How many beds in your general ward’? Are you referring to the total number of beds across the Trust for all patients who have been admitted to one of the Trust’s hospitals, or are you looking for a specific ward within a specific hospital? Information about the Trust’s hospitals can be found on our website. Information about the Trust’s wards can also be found on our website.

It is important to note that the Trust does not currently have a comprehensive Electronic Patient Record (EPR) system.

We should be able to provide answers for the rest of your request once the above has been clarified for us.

Reply received from applicant on 29 May 2024:

By General ward we mean department that combines scientific knowledge with clinical expertise to diagnose and treat a wide range of diseases affecting adults. They are typically sporadically checked and do not require full time nursing assistance at the bedside. We are looking for the specific number of beds within the hospital that are within these wards.

By General ward monitoring we mean: A general ward monitor also known as vital signs monitor or a spot check monitor is typically used to track a patient’s vital signs and overall wellbeing sporadically.

In line with the section 45 FOI Code of Practice, following clarification the statutory deadline associated with the request was reset.

Information disclosed:

1. University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
2. The postcode of the Trust Headquarters is BN11 2DH. Further information about the Trust can be found on our website.
3. GE Medical Systems
4. Carescape V100
5. This equipment was installed on various dates between 2009 and 2023. We are unable to confirm the precise installation dates on the basis that this information is not held centrally. Information relevant to this would only be recorded within the individual purchase contract. Any attempt to compile data in the format you are seeking would require the manual audit of all relevant contracts, which would require an unreasonable level of staff resources to complete.
   Section 12 provision [cost limit] of the FOIA is applicable at this time.
6. The Trust does not categorise any of our wards in this way. We have therefore provided the number of beds on average for the month of April, which was 1795 general and acute beds across all the Trust’s sites. This includes post-surgery beds and also medicine beds.
7. Not applicable; the Trust does not have an EPR system.
8. Not applicable