Leeds Children’s Hospital, has recently installed the BEAMS (Bedside Equipment Alarm Monitoring System) on one of its wards, to enhance patient safety and improve nursing efficiency and conditions. 

BEAMS at Leeds Children’s Hospital has reduced the number of alarms taking more than five minutes to respond to by 57%, more than 30 minutes by 100%, and average response by 43% to one minute 42 seconds. 

BEAMS is a monitoring system developed for and with Sheffield Children’s Hospital by Tutum Medical to improve response times for critical bedside alarms. It listens for medical device alarms and notifies staff of the source, device, and type of alarm. This allows staff to prioritise the most critical alarms, which supports improved patient outcomes, better workflow for nurses and reduced healthcare costs for hospitals. 

Jenni France, ward manager at Leeds Children’s Hospital, said: “We had heard from other children’s hospitals how this simple and easy system was significantly improving response times to critical equipment alarms. We saw great results from a trial on Ward L30. Patient safety and reassurance for nursing staff markedly improved. We know immediately which patient’s device has raised an alarm and the urgency of the alarm so we can prioritise alarm responses in seconds. A quiet and calm children’s ward, who would have thought!” 

Paul Rawlinson, managing director of Tutum Medical, added: “We are delighted Leeds Children’s Hospital have installed BEAMS and are seeing significant improvements in response times to alarms. Patient safety and better working conditions for nurses are vital especially at a time of nurse shortages and increased alarm fatigue. We are proud to be making a difference not just at Leeds Children’s Hospital but on wards across the country with our unique system.”