Picture credits to Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Zsolt Bognár, M.D. & Tamás Kassai, M.D. are R&D personnel (medical specialists) of the HRDOP (Human Resource Development Operational Programme) 2.2.1-16 project: „Development of Accident and Emergency Medicine for Child Care”, which examines the possibility of integrating different care models.
In the staff exchange programme of the Interreg Europe HELIUM project implemented by the National Health Service Centre (ÁEEK) Bognár and Kassai paid a visit to the Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in Liverpool, and studied the R+D+I solutions of the hospital with the aim to introduce and adapt some of the best practices in Hungary.
Injuries obtained in accidents and clinical diseases treated in the framework of acute child emergency and traumatology care are among the leading death causes in Hungary. At the moment there is no independent network for the treatment of the above mentioned injuries and casualties. The lack of these services called for the HRDOP 2.2.1-16 project supported by a governmental programme, which has determined the setting up of an independent, standardised and progressive nationwide network for child emergency and traumatology care.
The current practice and care environment in Hungary are insufficient to implement the requirements of the EACH Charter (https://www.each-for-sick-children.org/each-charter). We are looking for opportunities of development and innovation in order to achieve the above goals.
“We have experienced high-level delivery of medical care and have seen various start-up initiatives, which improve patients’ safety. Advance planning of orthopaedic-traumatology surgeries and educating patients on planned interventions (instant patient information) are visually supported by 3D-printed models at Alder Hey, based on the MRI scans.”
Alder Hey has a new approach towards patient-centered hospital care by developing specially designed applications both for computers and smartphones to assist families with: a) find one’s way/orientation inside the hospital building; b) providing ongoing contact between parents and children; c) dressing monitor to illustrate various ways of clothing matching a changed body image and different physical conditions, d) screening examinations to do hearing and vision tests at home, e) remedy and preventing medication errors, f) picture path/picture cards to assist every day communication of children with Autism g) mechanical monitoring of fluid intake and output in surgical patients by aquarate.
A basic requirement of the state-of-the-art health care is to give a thorough and all-around provision of information to patients. This is a real challenge in paediatric care as not only the parents but also the involved child patients must be informed, and should receive all the necessary information in an age-appropriate manner. Fulfilling this obligation is assisted by computers and smart phone applications, and beside models, and games special training is provided for the medical staff.
Taking into account the above experience, we sum up the contextual advantages of the innovation hub operating within the hospital as follows:
- sensitivity to problems
- quick response
- local test environment with the potential to provide instant feedback
In order to achieve all of the above, the framework conditions below are essential to meet fully and simultaneously:
- R+D+I capacity
- locally accessible multidisciplinary knowledge-base
- independent economic background
Superhospitals, planned by the government, would provide good potential to establish local innovation hubs in Hungary.
„excerpt of the full article”
The full article can be found in the Media Appearances folder of the Library section of the HELIUM website.
