Background
Sursee is a town which lies at the northern end of Lake Sempach in Switzerland, and its hospital is one of three run by the Luzerner Kantonsspital in the canton of Lucerne. Together they provide around 860 beds and treat 49,000 inpatients every year.
Swiss healthcare is provided through private health insurance which is compulsory for all Swiss nationals and anyone living in the country for more than three months. In recent years, there has been an increasing emphasis on ambulatory care with more procedures being dealt with in this way including orthopaedics, gynae and an expanding range of general surgeries.
Always progressive, Luzerner Kantonsspital has embraced this approach, and has now built a new, dedicated Day Surgery Unit at Sursee, which opened its doors in September 2024.
Approach
There are two operating theatres in the new unit, and the hospital had already decided that they would consider surgical trolleys as an alternative to fixed operating tables.
Anetic Aid Distributor OZG Healthcare was invited to supply QA4™ Mobile Surgery Systems on a trial basis earlier in the year to enable staff to evaluate them, and assess whether they would be suitable for the new unit.
Said OZG's Gregor Tiso: 'When I met with the team to train them on the new equipment for the trial, I found them very enthusiastic and open to learning how it could be used to help them operate efficiently.'
Another manufacturer's surgical trolleys were also part of the trial - but staff preferred Anetic Aid's QA4s because of the wide range of surgeries that could be carried out on them, and ease with which they could be set up in appropriate positions. They also commented on how easy it was to manoeuvre them from the OR Room to Recovery - and felt that overall, the QA4s offered great value for money.
Outcome
Following the trials, the hospital placed an order for eight powered QA4™ Systems, including the split leg option which is recommended for procedures such as knee arthroscopy.
They also purchased a number of operating table accessories including lithotomy stirrups, armboards and tables and various foam positioning products - all from the Anetic Aid range.
Said Gregor: 'Because the trolley provides both patient transport and an operating platform in one piece of equipment, it helps to facilitate patient throughput and efficiency of theatre time. The team members are also pleased because patients don't have to be lifted onto the QA4™ because they are still awake at this stage - and that means greater comfort for the patient - and for staff'.
