Q&A with a Scrubit end user

We sat down with Maitland Private Hospital Nurse Unit Manager Martine Mead, who has used the Scrubit app for almost a year, to learn about how she has benefited from the app.

How are you finding the Scrubit app so far?

We have been working with it now for a while. It allows us to automatically order instruments not in stock anymore, which is fantastic for procurement as it saves time going around to each shelf. It also means that if the surgeon changes his mind about an instrument or a procedure and wants something different, we can update it in the app straight away.

Why did you decide to implement the Scrubit app at Maitland Private?

Beth [Wozniak] is a nurse at Maitland Private, and when she came to see me years ago with the idea, I thought ‘this is the way to go in theatres’. I wanted to support Beth in her vision. I think we’ve done that and have helped her along the way, and she has certainly helped us — it’s saved us money, time and skills.

How has the Scrubit app helped with infection control?

Infection control is obviously important in operating theatres, as everything needs to be sterile. The less time people are out of theatres when a procedure is going on, the better. If we didn’t have the app, you’d see people running around in and out of theatres — and there are obviously many air changes when doors open — so it is helping in that respect. We are allowing those who should be in theatre to stay in theatre.

Have you measured how much time the app has saved your staff?

It varies depending on the procedure, but for, say, a knee replacement, it’d take the person doing the set-up around an hour and a half by the time they’ve gone around and collected everything. Now, with the Scrubit app, it takes half the time or less.

And the other difference is we’re not just setting up for one procedure, we’re doing the whole theatre list at once. So nurses can now set up four or five procedures in that same hour and a half it used to take for one set-up. The app allows us to go into each individual room and, instead of collecting one item, we’ll collect the five items we need for each of the surgeries and put them in the correct baskets for each procedure and for each surgeon. It’s streamlined the process.

Which hospital staff benefit most from the Scrubit app?

The app works for us (nurses), procurement [and] our stores person, because all they need to do when they receive an item is pop the product code in and the code will tell you exactly where it goes and in which room, what shelf, etc. The Scrubit app makes it so easy now — you just put your code in and it tells you where each instrument is.

Image caption: Maitland Private Hospital’s nurse unit manager, Martine Mead. Image credit: Matilda Ferguson.