Salisbury is a large hospital that provides services to Wiltshire, Dorset and Hampshire. The hospital has over 4000 staff and cares for over 250,000 individuals per year, including around 40,000 Accident and Emergency cases.
Due to space limitations the bulk of their archived patient files and notes were stored off site in boxes. With over 350,000 files stored in this way it was causing numerous problems for the staff and was also having a knock-on effect on its service to patients.
Though the cost to store these boxes off site was a concern, more serious issues were the retrieval times, security and the potential of lost files. Files needed to be kept secure but additionally (and as they would be required day or night) quickly accessible by its team.
After a survey of the hospital space, its team identified an unused area which could potentially be used for record storage. The space was large, dark and awkwardly shaped but unused. It was thought that once refurbished it could provide a potential solution to the record storage of the hospitals 8000 linear metres of files.
Rackline made the most of the awkward space with mobile and static record storage solutions.
Bespoke manufacturing allowed the racking units to be build exclusively for that space.
Following a detailed tender process Rackline were invited to help the hospital prepare plans and costing for approval. The Rackline team understood the capacity of record storage required and its space planning team closely examined the proposed space. Because of the unusual size and complexities of the room it was re-planned several times with changes to the proposed solutions to exceed the required capacity.
The Rackline team provided 1130 bays of Profile/ Multitrak mobile shelving with all the hospital files stored on shelves (not in boxes). Each shelf featured two full height dividers to allow for the easy retrieval of files. In total the Rackline record storage solutions provided storage for over 450,000 files. Due to the low light, Rackline even used a light reflective powder coat to make the previously dark area more accessible and more suitable for staff use.
Rackline static shelving provides high capacity, while dividers increase accessibility of the valuable files.
Clever use of subtly reflective powder coat makes the compact space more accessible and defies the lack of light.
The hospital has repurposed previously unused space into a valuable record storage areas for its files. The addition of this storage area has reduced the costs for the hospital (less than a 3 year payback, including all builders work on site), has improved accessibility of files with 24 hour access), reduced file losses and most importantly improved the experience of patients in their care.
Sandy Higdon, Medical Records Manager said: “Thanks to the space planning design that Rackline provided we now have an extremely functional filing system that can be accessed at any time, eliminates lost files and after three years will offer considerable savings.”
Rackline are the experts in Medical/Hospital Storage, to find out more see our dedicated page here. For more information on how you can maximise your space, and even make use of those unused areas of your estate get in touch.
