Security expert Abloy UK has supplied University Hospital Crosshouse (UHC), Kilmarnock, with PROTEC2 CLIQ and Traka21 key management solutions for their drug cabinets, to improve the management of medicines and increase nursing efficiency.

It is essential that medications are administered in a timely fashion to improve outcomes and experience.

There can be up to seven registered nurses on shift at any one time, and all require rapid access to medication cupboards. Previously, the nurse in charge would hold the only key. This key would give access to a drug cabinet which had separate keys for each drug cupboard, such as oral medication, IV drugs, dressings, and nebulisers. This would often result in delays to medication administration, as the nurse requiring to administer medication would have to find who had the one key for the cabinet.

There was no robust audit trail of access to the medication cupboards. There was a risk of the medication cupboards being left unlocked, and there was no way of identifying who had not secured them. As there was only one key, if this went missing it could result in a significant delay to treatment. New locks for medication trolleys and cabinets would often be required and estates staff contacted to come in from home.

The ASU trialled a bespoke solution, installed by Maclean UK locksmiths, combining PROTEC2 CLIQ, three Traka21 key cabinets, and EL160 lock case compliant to British Standard EN179. PROTEC2 CLIQ is an easy-to-use access control system based on mechanical, high security disc cylinders combined with highly encrypted electronic locking and identification.

Power to the lock is provided by the CLIQ key, therefore no batteries or wires are required to either the lock or drug cabinet, making it an ideal retrofit solution – even for applications such as mobile drug trolleys.

The system allows for remote key management, providing comprehensive audit trials on locks and padlocks. And the ability to remove lost or stolen keys from the system, increasing the security of controlled drugs and saves costs on replacing lost keys and installing new cylinders.

PROTEC2 CLIQ was combined with the Traka21 key management system, by simply entering a PIN code to access a specific key which they validate using the wall programming unit, they can access every cabinet they’re authorised to open. Access is granted for 14 hours to allow nurses access throughout the entirety of their shift but will deactivate after this period.

With most changes there is usually some teething problems or resistance. This was not the case with PROTECT2 CLIQ. Senior Charge Nurse (SCN) Christine Somerville stated: “After ensuring all staff knew how to access the key system, ensure key was charged and to ensure returned to cabinet at end of shift the feedback from all was very positive. It is difficult to measure how much nursing time was saved but there is no doubt it does. Most importantly though it results in patients getting essential medication timeously. Care is centred on the patient and there is enhanced accountability for the RN”.

Each key is registered to individual RN and SCN is able to identify every time the nurse has accessed a cupboard and at what time. As well as ensuring medications are administered as early as possible the security has improved with medication cupboards always locked providing a clear audit trail.

Following the trial and positive results, staff did not want to revert to the previous system. Although there was an additional cost, the team felt this would save money in the long run. The nursing time saved, improved patient care through timely medication administration, and enhanced security, demonstrated this would be a cost efficient system and was supported by the organisation who were keen to transform how we deliver care.

Christine Somerville added: “Our objective has always been to deliver the best possible person-centred care to patients in a timeous manner. There is no doubt the new key system has improved patient care and released nursing time to care. There is now no avoidable delays in medication administration. The audit trail has improved security of medication which has enhanced governance”.