BEAMS reduces alarm response time at Leeds Children’s Hospital

The multiple-award winning Bedside Equipment Alarm Monitoring System (BEAMS) has recently been installed in a ward at Leeds Children’s Hospital, which has significantly reduced alarm response times.

The number of alarms that took more than five minutes to respond was reduced by 57%, 100% in more than 30 minutes, and a 43% reduction in the average response time to one minute 42 seconds. The system was implemented to enhance patient safety in a timely manner and improve nursing efficiency and conditions.

BEAMS is a monitoring system developed by Tutum Medical Ltd for and with Sheffield Children’s Hospital to significantly improve response times to critical bedside alarms; It is the only acoustic solution that listens to medical equipment alarms and informs staff about the source, device and type of alarm.

It allows staff to prioritize the most important alarms, which supports better patient outcomes, improved workflow for nurses, and lower healthcare costs for hospitals.

Jenny France, ward manager at Leeds Children’s Hospital, said: “We had heard from other children’s hospitals how this simple and easy to use system is greatly improving response times to critical equipment alarms.

“We saw good results from a test on ward L30. There has been a significant improvement in patient safety and reassurance for nursing staff. We know immediately which patient’s device has raised an alarm and the urgency of the alarm so we can provide alarm responses in seconds can be given priority.

BEAMS, which Future Market Insights named as a recent development in the market in its 2023 report, listens for specific alarms and when an alarm is identified nurses are notified in which room to seek attention. needs to be given, along with the type of alarm triggered.

The system is designed to send notification via Wi-Fi to a nurse console display located at the nurse station and to speakers (who give a verbal notification) along the corridors. BEAMS creates its own Wi-Fi mesh network, which removes the need to interface with the hospital infrastructure.

Paul Rawlinson, Managing Director of Tutum Medical Ltd, said: “We are delighted that Leeds Children’s Hospital has installed BEAMS and are seeing a significant improvement in response times to alarms.

“Patient safety and better working conditions for nurses are vital, especially at a time of nurse shortage and increased alarm fatigue. We are focused on driving change not only at Leeds Children’s Hospital but on wards across the country with our unique system Proud.”

The BEAMS system is currently being trialled on other wards at Leeds Children’s Hospital as well as other hospitals across the country.