The Sydney Children's Hospitals Network is on the verge of rolling out new, technologically sophisticated equipment, with the selection of the network’s first medical pendants underway in collaboration with clinicians as part of the redevelopment project. Medical services pendants are installed from the ceiling and incorporate essential electrical, gas, audio-visual and information services into one streamlined unit, better utilising clinical spaces and reducing trip hazards around the patient's bedside. The equipment will be in intensive care and select emergency settings at the new Sydney Children's Hospital Stage 1 and Minderoo Children's Comprehensive Cancer Centre (SCH1/MCCCC). Sydney Children's Hospital, Randwick's Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment Project Lead, Colou Caro, said the pendants will optimise the workspace, transforming how staff provide care within the new hospital building. "I am very excited for the staff. It is a game changer because we have always worked around what we had," said Ms Caro.
It will be a more comfortable work experience for staff and allow higher work efficiency. With more efficient workflow, there are more safety benefits and infection control will improve.
The pendants are suspended by rotating arms, allowing the medical services to be transferred across the bed when required. Recent technological advances mean the equipment is more efficient, compact and child-friendly. Pendants allow beds to be safely positioned in different configurations within the room, improving the comfort of patients and their families. "The pendant allows patients who are staying for long periods but cannot leave the room to be moved closer to windows or the parent/carer bed while ensuring the clinical environment can be configured depending on the patient's needs," said SCHN Change and Transition Lead. "The adaptable setting allows the redevelopment team to deliver spaces that work towards our key goal of transforming kids' health."