All healthcare facilities, from hospitals and clinics to care homes, need to make sure they have an adequate supply of various essential items in order to function.
These facilities rely heavily on this equipment in order to provide care in both routine procedures and quickly find solutions in emergency situations.
So what counts as an essential supply in healthcare settings? For those keen to learn more about the behind the scenes of the medical world, here is a checklist of some must have equipment that doctors, nurses, surgeons, clinicians (and of course the patients) rely on.
Dressing Trolleys
A dressing trolley is an essential piece of equipment used in practically every healthcare setting. They are invaluable in situations such as caring for wounds or changing the dressings on injuries, and even used in minor procedures.
Dressing trolleys are mobile, standing on 4 or more castor wheels, and are usually made in stainless steel or similar materials in order to ensure that they are easy to keep clean and sterile.
The trolleys typically have multiple shelves or drawers and make it easy to keep items organised and easily accessible.
Typical items found on a dressing trolley include dressing materials (hence the name), antiseptics, gauze, and disposable medical gloves.
With a well equipped dressing trolley, healthcare facilities can improve their efficiency. This saves time and minimises any risk of contamination by preventing the likelihood of medical professionals from having to backtrack. Stopping them from making unnecessary trips between departments to storage areas in order to gather additional supplies.
There are various shapes and sizes of dressing trolleys, some with extra storage or removable shelves, and some with additional security measures, such as lockable drawers for security, safety and sterilisation reasons.
Controlled Drug Cabinets
A controlled drug cabinet is a piece of storage equipment needed to keep controlled medications safe and secure, usually via lock and key.
They are needed to prevent unauthorised access to potentially hazardous and contaminating materials and waste or dangerous medications – essentially, they could stop the misuse or theft and abuse of drugs.
Depending on the clinic, healthcare facilities will usually need multiple cabinets spread across the building to store different kinds of medication and materials. Keeping them separate from each other, as well as organised.
Controlled drug cabinets come in various sizes and styles, and can be mounted on walls or put on or underneath desks. There are small wall mounted ones for emergencies, storing such items as first aid kits or EpiPens.
Controlled drug cabinets are durable and constructed under strict regulations, using specific types of locks and materials as per regulations.
These controlled drug cabinets help healthcare facilities follow health and safety standards, keeping a safe environment for everyone.
Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Sterilisation Equipment
PPE refers to gloves, masks, gowns, and face shields, all essential in healthcare settings in order to stop the spread or risk of infections or contaminations.
The equipment protects both the wearer and patient, as well as other nearby staff. This equipment is used in various cases, from routine examinations and taking blood, to things like surgery and childbirth.
The equipment is disposable and kept sterile to reduce infection and promote a hygienic environment.
Tools used to sterilise equipment include machines like autoclaves, disinfectant sprays and wipes and more.
Wipes and sprays are used on surfaces, whilst autoclaves use high pressure steam to remove bacteria and viruses from reusable surgical equipment.
Diagnostic Equipment
There is a large range of diagnostic equipment, and these vary depending on the type of facility.
For hospitals and doctor’s surgeries, equipment ranges from essential tools such as stethoscopes, thermometers and blood pressure cuffs to scanning machines such as ECG’s, ultrasounds, MRIs and X-Ray equipment.
This equipment is integral for both basic diagnosis of an issue at an early stage, to referrals and deeper diagnosing.
Mobility Equipment
Patients may have mobility problems or may be unable to move due to illness or surgery. This is where mobility equipment is used to transfer patients to different departments, be it from surgery to a ward or vice versa.
Mobility equipment includes wheelchairs, stretchers for ambulances, and manoeuvrable hospital beds, amongst other equipment like crutches and walkers.
Final Thoughts – Keeping a Facility Organised
Above are just some of the essential supplies, machines, and equipment needed for a fully operational clinic. Alongside this, there’ll be mountains of paperwork and digital record keeping devices and systems to keep track of staff, patients, all the equipment on this list and much, much more.
