Tell us, how did you implement the principles of prudent donation at the station?
The priority project Prudent donation has been being begun to implement at the station in 2018. First, we provided reorganization of the donor department, the areas were expanded: unnecessary walls and partitions, also with glass ones at the register, were removed, working places for recorders and donors were equipped with computers. We renewed hardware, installed electronic appointment on the website and by phone, put the screen with electronic queue. As a result, there are no more queues to the transfusiologist and to the laboratory.
We designed new interior for the donor department, purchased new furniture, equipped a “kid’s zone”. Lockers for personal belongings of the donor were set in the wardrobe. The lobby is now equipped with water cooler. Convenient charging for the phones is now available, donors may charge eight phones simultaneously. “Donor traffic light” is now not only on the station site, but also on its facade. The traffic light works 24 hours a day. Information is updated daily.
Donor Traffic Light has received public recognition. At the All-Russian competition of professional skill of the Blood Service 2018, this project won the special “For creative and innovative approach in informing donors”. What difficulties did you face transitioning to new technologies? How did donors react to them?
Donors like our changes. We received many positive reviews. Before the introduction of the project there were huge queues at the registry, first they decreased, and then disappeared completely.
It should be said, donors got used to innovations with difficulty. Fortunately, they are happy now: they know exactly the time of their visit to the station and how long it takes. The institution refused to accept donors on Saturdays because the flow of blood components to the expedition was streamlined and the write-off of unclaimed components decreased. For the convenience of donors, we saved one working Saturday (according to a floating schedule) and the schedule was set from 8.00 to 13.00. This also reduced the write-off of blood components.
Transition to new technologies is rather difficult.
How did the staff accept the change?
We did not face any negative from employees. On the contrary, they proposed new ideas. After changing the schedule of receiving donors, the staff had more time to work with the documentation. And psychological climate in the team became better.
Process of innovation and continuous work are not easy to combine, are they?
Not easy, but possible. During the repair work of donor department, then department of blood collection and its components, we had to combine temporarily the offices in our station. It was accepted with understanding, both by donors and staff. The working process did not stop, the process of blood preparation continued during the repair.
What would you advise your colleagues when implementing innovations into the workflow?
Dear colleagues, do not be afraid to implement innovations. It can be worrying, but brings great results and unite the stuff.
What effect of the Prudent donation launch do you see now? What do you expect in the future?
The name “Prudent donation” speaks for itself: only the components of donor blood necessary for the medical organization are collected, the write-off of erythro-components has significantly decreased. And in future we expect only excellent results.