Purchase of Geister Peripheral and Major Vascular Access Instruments

Instrument capacity and service resilience risk

Current instrument capacity is sufficient to support routine elective and endovascular activity but provides limited resilience for emergency, CEPOD, and Major Trauma Centre activity, particularly out of hours or following weekend use. A lack of available trays at peak times presents a risk to timely service delivery.

Clinical and equipment reliability risk

Existing capacity constraints increase reliance on frequent instrument cycling, creating pressure on available sets and contributing to an identified clinical risk associated with limited equipment availability and resilience. This has been assessed as a service-critical risk within existing risk management processes.

Decontamination and turnaround risk

While decontamination capacity is approved and available, the limited number of trays places pressure on turnaround times within the Hospital Sterile Services Department. This may result in workflow bottlenecks and reduced flexibility during periods of increased demand.

Training and operational transition risk

The introduction of additional trays requires familiarisation and training for operating theatre and decontamination staff. Although training will be delivered internally, there is a short-term risk of operational inefficiency during the transition period.

Asset disposal and compliance risk

The replacement of existing instruments requires compliant disposal in line with Clinical Engineering and asset management processes, although no data security risks are associated with the equipment.

Mitigation

The procurement of additional major and peripheral vascular access trays will increase instrument resilience, support 24/7 service availability, reduce reliance on rapid cycling, and improve decontamination workflow. Standardised tray configuration, internal training delivery, and managed disposal arrangements will mitigate operational, clinical, and compliance risks.