Dear Friends,

I was reading with great interest the section where one could ask questions and receive an early reply regarding problems etc in CSSD.

At present I am reading for the Msc in Health Service Management at the University of Malta. I am looking for any information regarding the evaluation and cost effectiveness of starting a Top-Up System.

You may be are aware of some research that has been carried out in this area, if so I would be very grateful if you could share it with me. I have chosen the subject of Evaluation and Cost Effectiveness of starting a Top-Up System for my thesis. My department is the only CSSD on the Island and hence I cannot compare studies with anybody. It is proving quite difficult to access any literature to review on this specific field, so any help you can give will be of use. The question that needs to be answered is:

"Does a Top-Up System improve the services to the wards ?"

Alternatively
"Is the Top-Up System cost effective ?"

If any research has been done and would like to give me a helping hand, I would be highly thankful.

Mario Sant
CSSD Manager
St. Luke's Hospital
Malta

Mario,

I am not an SSD Manager so I may not be fully qualified to answer your question. However, if I assume that the "top-up system" is one where the SSD is reponsible for maintaining a proper level of medical devices at ward level then it would, indeed, be of benefit to the the ward staff. The responsibility for stock levels and storage conditions would be the responsibility of the SSD who could then determine expiry dates etc. Ward staff would then be able to remove stock as required. The visits by SSD staff would need to be often enough to keep the stock levels at the required numbers.

The question of cost effectiveness really depends upon what it is being compared with and whether the current situation provides acceptable service. I have no experience in the costing of this and am not aware of any research. Other readers may be able to provide more feedback.

peter hooper
banbury UK
[email protected]