PROMOTIONAL FEATURE
As part of its ongoing commitment to patient safety and satisfaction, Smiths Medical hosted a symposium at the recent Obstetric Anaesthetists’ Association (OAA) congress, which took place in Brussels. The Smiths Medical backed symposium, designed to offer support to healthcare professionals, was entitled ‘Improving Patient Safety and Satisfaction in Obstetric Anaesthesia’.
The Smiths Medical symposium was part of the company’s ongoing education and training programme, to ensure healthcare professionals are prepared for the transition from Luer to non-Luer connectors following the publication of a new standard from the International Standards Organisation (ISO). The ISO 80369-6 is known globally as NRFit ™ , to help end users and clinicians identify the correct product for relative Neuraxial procedures.
The symposium was chaired by Professor Dr Marc Van de Velde, Chair Department of Anesthesiology, UZ Leuven and Professor of Anesthesiology, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, KU Leuven. The first speaker was Dr Paul Sharpe, Consultant Anaesthetist, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and Chair of the NHS Improvement Neuraxial Oversight Group. Paul Sharpe’s presentation – ‘Introduction and deployment of NRFit ™ connectors’ – aimed to raise awareness of the NRFit ™ system. He discussed the safety criteria for deployment to the new system, highlighted the product options currently available and offered logistics guidance for exchange-day.
Dr Con Papageorgiou, Consultant Anaesthetist, The Hillingdon Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, London, delivered a presentation entitled: ‘Programmed Intermittent Epidural Bolus (PIEB) for Labour Analgesia – Are we there yet?’ This presentation covered how PIEB works and included a comparison of two regimens and parturient mobility with PIEB labour analgesia. Con Papageorgiou also discussed PIEB versus midwife led top up labour analgesia and the effect on a midwife’s workload. Statistics showed a time saving of 67 minutes per epidural by using a PIEB system.
Commenting on the symposium Glen Johnson, NordUK Marketing Manager at Smiths Medical, says: “It was great to see so many people attend the symposium. The feedback from the event has shown that it was very well received and people really appreciated the opportunity to ask questions and get up to speed with the new legislation. This was supported by the enthusiastic way all of the delegates participated in a lively discussion following each presentation. As a company we’re committed to offering practical help and support to healthcare professionals as they gear up for the introduction of the new ISO standard within their organisation.”
Smiths Medical can assist hospitals through the transition to NRFit ™ ; from helping set up a working group to full implementation. For more information contact Glen Johnson, NordUK Marketing Manager at Smiths Medical, on 01233 722 100 or email glen.johnson@smiths-medical.com
