In today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape, innovation is crucial to not just streamline operations, but improve patient care and outcomes, as well as enhance overall healthcare experiences for our patients. Nurses are now breaking stereotypes and stepping up beyond their basic caregiving roles to be drivers of change and creativity. To enhance patient care and operational efficiency at the polyclinics, a group of nurses from the SingHealth Polyclinics (SHP) Nursing Innovation Workgroup is proactively pushing innovation.
This committee, comprising nurses from across our ten polyclinics, gather regularly to discuss common problems that nurses and patients encounter, brainstorm solutions and streamline work processes.
The team noticed that many patients struggle to hold the Handheld Eye Occluder during their visual acuity screenings, which inspired the team, led by Nurse Clinician Deng Shubin, to do something about it.
The Need to Go Hands-Free
The handheld Lorgnette Spectacle Occluder is used to cover a patient’s eye during eye screening. It has been a challenge for those with weakened motor strength to hold it firmly against their eyes, and this potentially increases the time spent on each screening session and lengthens overall wait time in the clinics. “A hands-free occluder will reduce the time spent and enhance the patient and staff experience,” explained Shubin.
Handheld Lorgnette Spectacle Occluder used in visual acuity checks.
It requires patients to hold the handle of the occluder with a stable arm during screening.
In January 2023, Shubin and three other Senior Staff Nurses – Stella Sim, Zarina Binte Yusoff and Lim Cheau Yee decided to put their heads together to develop a solution. With guidance from the Alice Lee Innovation Centre of Excellence (A.L.I.C.E), the team surveyed 100 patients and 77 nurses on their experience with the vision test at polyclinics, specifically in Eunos, Punggol, Sengkang and Tampines. It was found that 25 per cent of the patients surveyed could not hold on to the handheld occluder due to shaky hands. Furthermore, 71 per cent of the nurses surveyed reported that they encountered patients who require assistance around one to three times a month.
The SHP team meeting up with Innovation Centre Colleagues in A.L.I.C.E @ SGH Campus.
Developing Prototypes
The findings of the survey prompted the team to hypothesise the need for a flexible wearable solution. “It can be like a pair of spectacles worn by the patient, so we will also be able to flip on the pinhole and the opaque attachment on the mechanism,” Shubin shared. With this, patients with weaker motor strength can undergo vision tests without the struggles of holding the occluder, making the examination less stressful for them. Unable to find an existing solution or product available, the team approached A.L.I.C.E. for assistance with the development of a prototype.
A preliminary wearable prototype developed by the team.
Bringing An Idea to Greater Heights
With the prototype, the team participated in the SingHealth Nursing Innovation Challenge 2023 and was awarded a $5,000 grant last November to further craft and trial their prototype.
The team has also applied for and was awarded with the ‘Singapore Biodesign Early Prototyping Support 2024’. With the SB's Early Prototyping Support fund of $50,000 that they have received, the team will be utilising it for further prototyping to create a working prototype and validating the solution.
Clinching first prize at the SingHealth Nursing Research and Innovation Day 2023.
The SHP team (left to right): Ms Lam Woan Ching, Deputy Director, Nursing Admin,
Senior Staff Nurse Zarina Binte Yusoff, Senior Staff Nurse Lim Cheau Yee, Ms Stephanie Teo, Chief Nurse,
Adjunct Professor Tracy Carol Ayre, Group Chief Nurse, SingHealth Senior Staff Nurse Stella Sim Fong Ling, Nurse Clinician Deng Shubin
Even with a ready prototype, the journey ahead is expected to be long before it can be adopted for use. At present, the team will undertake Quality Improvement trials for their hands-free prototype with patients and nurses before developing a functional prototype.
Navigating through the unknown has posed multiple challenges. However, the team thrives on the motto, “Never stop dreaming, never stop believing, never give up, and never stop learning.”
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