A BRAND new computer system has been provided to the acute pain team at Musgrove Park Hospital after it was purchased by the hospital’s League of Friends for £12,000.

The new system is designed to allow staff to spend more clinical time with their patients and less on conducting administrative tasks.

The new specialist-built system means the hospital’s acute pain nurses can input a patient’s assessments directly onto a laptop while in clinical areas, rather than of taking written notes and then duplicating these notes onto a computer system later in the day.

Lead nurse Wendy Cruickshank and doctor Edward Keevil approached League of Friends Musgrove Park Hospital through its small grants funding as the old database was out of date, with the charity then deciding to purchase the new system.

League of Friends Musgrove Park Hospital are a charity that looks to promote voluntary service in the hospital and raise funds to provide better equipment and facilities at Musgrove Park.

The acute pain team at the hospital consists of two consultant anaesthetists and five specialist nurses, who provide specialist advice and a daily ward round for patients in hospital with post-operative pain.

This includes acute pain issues, such as fractured ribs and pancreatitis, and they also review patients with chronic or difficult to manage pain.

These patients often require advanced techniques such as epidural, nerve catheters and opiate infusions, as well as other strong medications to help reduce their pain.

While these techniques can be effective in reducing pain, there can be a risk of adverse events, so patients are closely monitored and reviewed.

Wendy Cruickshank, lead nurse for the acute pain team and vascular access team, said: “Our previous database was out of date and required duplication in data entry.

“With the new system, we can input our assessments into a laptop while on the ward, print and place into the patients' notes, saving time – meaning we can review most patients promptly.

“The system also allows us to analyse trends in treatment effectiveness and patient outcomes that can be used to improve service delivery, patient care and experience, and also inform clinical research in acute pain management.”

Dr Edward Keevil, clinical lead for acute pain, added: “We are incredibly grateful to our League of Friends for their generous support, especially as we know it will make a huge difference to the care our nurses can provide to our patients.

“The number of patients referred into our acute pain service has doubled over the last 10 years, so the additional time we have will be spent on direct patient care. Thank you to the League of Friends for the financial support which has made this project possible and successful.”

Clinton Rogers, president of the League of Friends at Musgrove Park Hospital, added: "We were very impressed with the presentation about the new pain control system and felt it fitted the brief of the League of Friends perfectly – supporting projects that improve patient care with the latest technology.”