Patient transfer scale nominated for HSJ award

Marsden’s Patient Transfer Scale has been shortlisted for the Patient Safety Innovation of the Year award at this year’s HSJ Patient Safety Awards.

The awards ceremony will take place virtually in November as part of the Patient Safety Virtual Congress and Awards.

The Patient Transfer Scale and its inventor, Nurse Gillian Taylor, have been selected based on their ambition, visionary spirit and the demonstrable positive impact that they have had on patient and staff experiences within the health and social care sector.

The judging panel is made up of a diverse range of respected figures within the healthcare community including Rachel Power (chief executive, The Patients Association), Jean Knight (chief operating officer, Northamptonshire Healthcare FT) and Vincent Badu (deputy chief executive, Kent & Medway Partnership Trust).

Taylor had the initial idea for the Patient Transfer Scale in 2008 while working as an ED nurse for NHS Lanarkshire. A nine-year-old was admitted to hospital with crush injuries to his legs. The child was clearly the size of an adult and they were unable to weigh him quickly. Instead the APLS formula of Age + 4 x 2 was used to ‘guesstimate’ his weight. Gillian picked up a ‘PAT Slide’ and imagined how easy it would be to weigh a patient if the transfer board had an inbuilt weighing scale.

A recent study by The Royal Hospital for Children Glasgow showed that “the PTS are a more accurate and reliable way of measuring weight than the APLS formula.”

The need for an accurate weight on admission is significant, from paediatrics to ICU. There are genuine risks to patient safety when drug dosages for a range of conditions rely on accurate weight readings. Thanks to the tireless efforts of Gillian Taylor and NHS Lanarkshire, the Patient Transfer Scale is now allowing immobile patients to be weighed more quickly and easily in 33 countries worldwide.

Taylor said: “I am delighted the PTS has been recognised for the HSJ Patient Safety Innovation of the Year award.

“For myself and lots of my colleagues in Lanarkshire patient safety is what it’s all about. We are passionate about patient safety and improvement work. This award gives recognition to the endless energy and effort put into the development of the PTS as well as the awareness of the device raised in the UK and over the rest of the world, promoting a change in culture from guesstimating weights to accurate weights, and also improved systems and process to the benefit of patient care.”