Accu-Chek Inform II meters and Cobas IT 1000 point-of-care data management software from Roche have helped to improve patient safety at the Countess of Chester Hospital NSH Foundation Trust.
The new installation has enabled the hospital to improve the management and quality control of its point-of-care blood glucose testing.
The Accu-Chek Inform II meters are located throughout the hospital, within surgical units and diabetes wards, and Cobas IT 1000 provides access to them all from a central location.
Anita Jones, point-of-care testing co-ordinator, said: 'The Inform II meters were originally placed in critical-care areas within the hospital as part of the Safer Patients Initiative, in which the trust took part.
'Glycaemic control was one of the primary drivers in this project.
'We were able to monitor glucose measurements in critical-care patients using Cobas IT 1000 and to demonstrate that the performance of the Countess of Chester Hospital was good over the course of this trial.
'Now, Cobas IT 1000 links Inform II meters in our surgical units and diabetes wards; this connectivity allows real-time access to the meters and provides central records for internal quality control [IQC].
'We no longer have to visit each ward to audit IQC and compliance to policy.
'A quality-control lockout ensures that IQC is performed and acceptable, giving better control of the performance of the meters,' she added.
According to Jones, the software keeps a record of all trained operators.
She continued: 'Since the point-of-care testing team allocates individual passwords to all staff, we are informed of new operators and we can track the status of training records centrally.
'The system also allows patient records to be stored and accessed centrally and provides valuable information on the number of tests performed.
'This has helped us to improve our blood glucose testing service, not only improving patient safety and patient care but also allowing us to work very efficiently,' said Jones.
