Safety recommendation
HSIB recommends that NHS England reviews system requirements for barcode scanning technology, in order to support local organisations to reduce the risk of incorrect selection and insertion of prostheses/implants.
Response:
NHS England provide advice, support and guidance to NHS organisations interested in adopting or improving approaches to ensure the traceability of medical devices and other products used in health and care services safely. This is NHS England’s programme for supporting Scan4Safety through national advice and guidance.
Specifically, an official Scan4Safety website has been published to help organisations find the resources they need to promote Scan4Safety locally. The website is supported by GS1 and received input from other key stakeholders. Furthermore, NHS England are launching an interactive NHS Futures page with more hands-on tools for providers to use locally.
To further our support to the system, NHS England work closely with other national organisations (MHRA, NHS Supply Chain and GS1), people who use services and NHS trusts in line with system wide requirements to increase the uptake of safe and effective scanning technologies. In addition, from March 2024 all trusts are mandated to commence recording of medical devices used in all procedures through specialty Outcome Registries.
These approaches accord with the DHSC Medical Technologies Strategy 2023 highlights the importance of utilising appropriate scanning technologies to improve the traceability of device use in health and care services.
Response received on 22 January 2024.