Welcome to the autumn edition of Spectrum Journal from all at the BEAI.
As the Covid-19 pandemic continues to dominate global headlines, healthcare professionals remain at the frontline. A strong uptake in vaccinations across Ireland has facilitated a move forward in relation to public restrictions, however we must all remain vigilant in the face of this prevailing crisis.
Inside this issue is another selection of informative and educational articles on a wide range of topics relevant to the Clinical Engineering community. In our focus in this issue, Vasanth Pillai, Senior Clinical Engineer at National Maternity Hospital, examines the purpose of Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in neonatology and outlines the Clinical Engineering involvement in the MRI Department.
Seamus McGarrell, Senior Clinical Engineering Technician, Medical Physics and Bioengineering Department, StJames’s Hospital, discusses using evidence-based key performance indicators for quality improvement in routine maintenance programmes.
Colm Holland, Principal Clinical Engineering Technician, South Infirmary-Victoria University Hospital, outlines how virtual surgical planning can be more beneficial than traditional planning methods.
Meanwhile, Ann Healy, Public Procurement Buyer, examines the value of the public procurement market and offers an overview of the tender process to our readers. And Tom Bergin, Clinical Engineer, Mater Private Hospital, outlines the standards and audit focus for the Clinical Engineering Department.
Tackling the issue of diversity and gender parity in our workplace, Corné Moll, Senior Clinical Engineering Technician at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, highlights her positive experience in relation to diversity and inclusion in Clinical Engineering in Ireland.
Elswehere, Paddy Healy and Dermot McDonnell, Senior Clinical Engineers, Clinical Engineering Department, Our Lady Of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, outline the process involved in entering the HSE-HIHI Spark Ignite Innovation competition, in which their entry – the innovative ‘Sleepycubs Neonatal Respiration Monitor’ – was announced 'Runner-up' in the Dublin Regional Final.
Brian Farrell, Commercial Manager at Veolia Water Technologies, highlights the importance of a consistent supply of pure water in order to deliver a robust healthcare strategy across hospitals.
Karl Bergin, Department Head, Clinical Engineering, Coombe Women and Infants University Hospital and I (Eoghan Hayden, Department of Clinical Engineering, The National Maternity Hospital) offer an update on the work underway for the EQUALS initiative.
Following on from ‘Women in Engineering’, we have introduced a Q&A series where we interview individuals involved in the healthcare industry: manufacturers, suppliers and healthcare professional.
In the first of this new series, we talk to Gerard Farrell, Clinic Manager with BBraun Wellstone Midlands Renal Care Centre in Laois. We also report on the BEAI Annual General Meeting and outline the elections for the coming year.
Finally, wishing his friend and colleague an enjoyable retirement, Derek Farrell, Principal Clinical Engineer at St. Vincent’s University Hospital (SVUH) offers an insight into the career of Frank Kelly.
As always, many thanks to Frank Kelly and his team for compiling the content for this issue of Spectrum Journal – please contact Frank if you have any ideas for content for future editions at
spectrum@beai.ie
Wishing you all the best,
Kind regards
Eoghan Hayden