CHI paediatric smart pump system

Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) has worked with Mayo University Hospital (MUH) to introduce use of the CHI paediatric smart pump system to the hospital. A smart pump is an infusion device which uses specific software and a drug library to deliver carefully controlled amounts of medication to a patient through a drip.

This system for medication delivery is designed to reduce errors and standardise how medications are prepared and delivered. Use of the CHI smart pump drug library provides a very safe system for delivery of high risk medications to sick infants and children and is the new standard of care in Ireland. MUH is the first hospital outside of CHI or specialised neonatal services to use this technology for children in hospital.

The availability of the smart pump system in Mayo University Hospital will also ensure that the sickest paediatric patients who need to travel to one of the paediatric intensive care units in CHI have uninterrupted delivery of medication while in transit and when they arrive in CHI.

Dr Michelle Duggan, Consultant Anaesthetist at Mayo University Hospital said, “We were delighted to collaborate with Children’s Health Ireland and to become the first pilot site for the paediatric drug pumps. The system is working very well and has been used for a number of babies. As soon as we know a child needs to come to ICU the nurses can prepare the drug infusions and can be ready to go as soon as the child gets here.”

Dr Moninne Howlett, Chief Pharmacy Information Officer at Children’s Health Ireland added, “The smart pump technology adds layers and layers of safety and is the gold standard internationally for the delivery of high risk medications. In Children’s Health Ireland our hope would be that every hospital setting will use this technology, so that anywhere a child gets sick, they will have access to a standardised system.”

Dr Cormac Breatnach, Consultant Paediatric Intensivist at Children’s Health Ireland said, “The benefit of this partnership is that children in Mayo University Hospital are receiving the exact same level of technological support for their medication delivery while in MUH, while being transported to Dublin and on arrival to ICU in Crumlin. They won’t have any disadvantage by presenting to a peripheral centre, all the benefits of the paediatric hub are available to them.”