Derby Hospitals' innovative wristbands win prestigious award

A Derby Hospitals innovation which helps make sure patients are given the right amount of oxygen has won a prestigious award.

A consultant at the Royal Derby Hospital came up with the idea of using colour-coded wristbands to make it simple to identify how much oxygen each patient needed.

Excessive amounts of oxygen can be dangerous for some patients and it is therefore important that health care professionals administer the correct amount.

The bands each have a different colour and display the level of oxygen required for the patient wearing it, making it quick and easy for hospital staff – and paramedics treating patients in their home – to see how much oxygen should be given.

The bands were developed by Derby Hospitals’ Respiratory team, led by consultant Dr Gillian Lowrey. As a result of the innovation, the team last night won the Team Award at the East Midlands Innovation in Healthcare Awards.

The award also carries with it a £2,000 prize to further develop an innovation.

Judges said the wristbands were a “novel invention that has the potential to save lives in hospitals throughout the country.”

Dr Lowrey said:

This is a real boost for us and will allow us to develop the idea further to try and get the bands adopted more widely.

Wristbands are popular with charities and people enjoy wearing them so the feedback from patients has been really good.

We tried them on one ward and almost three-quarters of patients said they'd wear them on discharge to help other services, like the ambulance staff.

Source: http://www.derbyhospitals.nhs.uk/