The Bedhead Tidy was developed by nurse, Emma Thomson, and former biomedical engineer, Steve Connew, who were concerned that tubing and cables hung by patients’ beds could cause contamination issues and result in avoidable additional costs. Funding support through the Innovation team at East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust (ESNEFT) – where they worked – enabled it to be developed, tested, and trialled, and is now available for other health and care providers to buy.
Steve Connew, who has now retired, but was an electro-biomedical engineering Operational manager at ESNEFT, said: “The simple and cost-effective Bedhead Tidy was many years in development, so to see it in the marketplace to help improve patient safety felt like a massive achievement.” Steve and Emma worked with the Innovation team for support, expertise, and funding through the Colchester & Ipswich Hospitals Charity across areas such as financial costing and design protection.
Emma Thomson, now ESNFHT’s head of Resuscitation Services, said: “The Bedhead Tidy seemed such an obvious idea, but it’s great we had the support to develop it, and now we can fit it to all beds across the Trust to help staff, and therefore patients.
“A simple device which helps us do our job., it’s also cost-saving, preventing wastage from items no longer able to be used that have to be thrown away. Every penny counts.” The pair also had support from Health Tech Enterprise, which advised around intellectual property rights, led the negotiations for the licensing agreement to help bring the device to market, and provided strategic advice to enable prototype development and trial testing of the Bedhead Tidy in real-world settings.
The Bedhead Tidy is available in three different designs for hospital beds, specialist care beds (neonatal and critical care) and as beds in the community.
Dr Karen Law at Health Tech Enterprise said: “We are thrilled to have played a pivotal role in bringing this innovative solution to life. The Bedhead Tidy exemplifies the power of collaboration and underscores our commitment to supporting NHS innovation. It’s a simple yet brilliant idea that will significantly benefit both patients and healthcare teams – and an excellent example that innovation doesn’t have to be high-tech to make an impact.”
The Bedhead Tidy is now available on the Walters Medical website.