Last month, the Northern Health Emergency Department (ED) launched its first-ever Bariatric Kiosk as part of their initiative on Better and Safer Patient Care.

This concept was derived from a framework currently run at both the Auckland District Health Service Board and Waikato District Health Board. In partnership with ESSENTIAL, who helped with the development of this framework in New Zealand, a stand-by bariatric bed (on loan), is released via a pin code for bariatric patient admissions via the ED.

The bed movement will be closely monitored by Nurse Unit Managers when it leaves the ED to other wards, so that as soon as a patient is discharged, the bed loan ceases.

Bronwyn Matthews, CNS/ED Equipment Nurse, said, “The frequency of bariatric patient admissions is increasing, and appropriate equipment is crucial for patient care. The Bariatric Kiosk will enhance patient and staff safety, patient care and our access process.”

Suzanna Tan, Manual Handling Risk Coordinator (OHS Wellbeing), says, “The loan arrangement works out to be more cost-effective than having a suite of ‘super’ bariatric equipment which requires regular and extensive preventative maintenance, and repairs.”

“The Waikato Study on a 320kg patient noted that provision of suitable equipment, in early stages of admission for care, reduced the Length of Stay (LOS) from 80 days for the first admission to 13 days for the second admission. This was coupled with significant cost savings in the second admission.”

“One in three Australian adults are obese. We need to be ready to provide care for an increasing population of obese patients. Having a stand-by Bariatric Kiosk is the first step to providing good care to patients,” adds Suzanna.