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What is bed management?
Bed management is the practice of efficiently using beds within a hospital ward, so that the maximum amount of beds are available for patients.
Learn more about what is bed management and how software can support the process.
Written by Liam Sheasby
Bed management and patient flow
Patient flow is at the heart of bed management, but what is patient flow? It describes the movement of people within a hospital or care setting, from admission to discharge, but it also follows the patient journey.
It is important because of the sheer volume of demand for care within the NHS and the private sector. Without careful, dedicated management there is a risk of increased re-admission and increased mortality rates.
Using bed management software, staff can plan around the individual. They can monitor patient admissions and discharges to track bed availability, meaning that people can be placed on the most appropriate wards to ensure a consistent high level of care throughout the hospital.
This flow of people is crucial to getting the most value and efficiency out of the beds and care services on offer at any given moment.
What is a bed manager in a hospital?
A bed manager is the member of staff responsible for the constant monitoring of patient admissions, discharges, and the flow of people within a hospital.
Bed management software allows the bed manager to track the ins and outs within the hospital and to efficiently organise which patients go where.
This is especially helpful in times of increased demand as patients on the mend can be safely moved to different wards, freeing up acute care beds for priority patients.
Why is hospital bed management important?
Benefits of optimised bed management
The Carter Review in 2016 states: ‘The best performing hospital systems around the world have real-time monitoring and reporting at their fingertips, enabling them to make decisions on a daily, weekly and monthly basis to improve quality and efficiency performance.’
In acute settings, decisions are made even more quickly, often on a second-by-second basis. Effective bed management supports decision making for clinicians and bed managers and has a positive impact on their jobs, as well as on each patient’s quality of care.
Benefits of bed management
Bed management benefits for the patient
Effective bed management positively impacts the patient in the following ways:
- Improved communication and better quality of data support better care and deliver an improved experience
- Clinicians have all the information to make informed decisions in the best interest of the person
- Live monitoring of clients' conditions, real-time data view and access to records through the digital whiteboard ensures safety
- Prevents delayed transfer of care (DTOC)
Bed management benefits for the clinician
Effective bed management positively impacts the clinical staff and hospital teams.
- Enables a real-time bed state via touch screen admission, transfer and discharge and live monitoring of clients' conditions, reviews and service requests on the ward to ensure clients receive the best possible care
- Empowers frontline workers by improving communication and user engagement with access to up-to-date info in real-time
- Allows bed management teams to manage, maintain and allocate bed requests using an allocation and capacity view, saving time and increasing efficiency
- Enhances working practices and process by reducing the need to duplicate work into multiple systems, saving time and increasing efficiency
Bed management benefits for trusts
- Clear view of overall bed occupation throughout the hospital at any point, ensuring safety and improving quality of care
- Facilitates multi-disciplinary team discussion regarding clients ensuring they’re fully monitored and data is up-to-date
- Reduces paper-based processes and promotes safe wards
- Promotes better discharge planning and helps prevent delayed transfer of care (DTOC)
- Assists in making quicker, more informed decisions on beds and improved client experience
Having digital whiteboards will greatly improve the management of beds across the Trust’s hospitals, enabling best use of beds and effectively shortening the length of stay for patients.