Cutting expenditure should never involve cutting corners.

For medical facilities, cost saving ideas must always be balanced carefully alongside potential risk.

With patient wellbeing consistently at the fore, there is no substitute for quality of care and any budget-saving measure should always respect this.

However, there is absolutely no dignity in wasting money that could be better spent elsewhere. For this reason, all facilities should carefully measure their costs and constantly assess if there is a cheaper way to do the same job or – ideally – do it to an even better standard.

When it comes to sensibly reducing costs in medical facilities, sluice rooms – with their frequently used machinery and consumables – are a good place to start.

Examine sluice room water and electricity use.

Hand washing is critical to providing safe care to patients, and rarely more so than in a sluice room where human waste is routinely disposed of.

Although it’s not advisable to imply that clinicians should use less water for hand washing (it may encourage the use of antibacterial gels, which aren’t suitable for every purpose), good habits should be instilled around turning off taps that aren’t in current use. Making clinicians aware that taps shouldn’t be left running while they fulfil tasks is an important cost-saving measure, which can be instilled through appropriate signage.

Similarly, if machines or plumbing are showing signs of leaks it’s important to get them repaired promptly – both to save on utility and repair costs and prevent the spread of infection from contaminated water.

If you’re concerned about the expense of calling out technicians to repair sluice room machinery, remember that a service and maintenance contract can make these costs significantly more manageable, whilst also offering preferential callout times.

In addition, clinicians should carefully consider how they use sluice room machinery and if it’s necessary to do so. Although used items should never be left to pile up or litter a sluice room (doing so would present a significant infection risk), clinicians shouldn’t use washer disinfectors or macerators unnecessarily and waste the water and electricity they use.

Consider the cost of staff time.

By using the sluice room solution that best fits your individual needs, you can improve clinicians’ efficiency and prevent wasted time – which, of course, saves money in the long-term.

In busy wards, cleaning reusable items by hand will take additional time that simply isn’t available – before you even consider the hygiene risks of doing so.

Fortunately, the right sluice room machinery will allow clinicians to improve their efficiency, with quick and effective waste disposal methods that will also keep patients safe.

A washer disinfector, for example, will eliminate the need to scrub a bedpan by hand; meanwhile, opting for single-use pulp products which can be disposed of in a macerator will waive the need for reusable bedpans entirely.

Reduce the high price of infection.

An outbreak of infection can cost a hospital dearly.

Healthcare-associated infections are estimated to cost the NHS approximately £1 billion a year[1], with additional resources, ward closures and cancelled surgeries all contributing to the cost.

Although its likely to be impossible to eradicate HCAIs completely, good standards of infection control are a hallmark of modern medicine and significantly reduce their prevalence.

Ensuring good hygiene practices within the sluice room – including investing in the right, well-maintained machinery – will help to reduce outbreaks and reduce the spiralling cost of increased inpatient stays, intensive treatment and additional care.

By disposing of human waste in the safest possible way, you will protect your budget by protecting those that matter most – your patients.

The Eco+ by DDC Dolphin is the most environmentally friendly, economical and hygienic macerator on the market – and its ready to save you money.

Enhanced integrated chemical dosing, powerful antimicrobial surfaces and fully hands-free operation, the Eco+ sluice room macerator will prevent the spread of infection in your facility – saving costs and even lives, long-term.

The most economical machine in the DDC Dolphin range, the Eco+ uses very little water and energy to operate, as well as using advanced hands-free technology to reduce cross contamination of infectious materials and minimise the risk of outbreaks.

By eliminating the arduous task of washing reusable items, the productivity of clinicians is increased – as well as making hospital budgets stretch further by lowering machine operating costs and reducing the risk of infection.

Ready to find out more?

Take a look at the Eco+