A Leading Hospital in the UK
The Liverpool Women’s Hospital is a major obstetrics, gynaecology and neonatology research hospital in Liverpool, England. It receives over 50,000 patients annually and delivers more babies than anywhere else in Europe, about 8,000 – which is almost 1 per hour! As a valued Monika customer supported by our UK team, the hospital relies on Monika’s monitoring system to help safeguard the storage of critical medications across its busy departments.
With such a high volume of patients and specialised care needs, reliable medication storage is critical.
Smart Monitoring Across the Hospital
Monika is installed in over 70 areas throughout Liverpool Women’s. The system ensures important medications are stored correctly by continuously monitoring and recording the temperatures of fridges, freezers, and ambient environments across wards and the pharmacy.
Deputy Chief Pharmacist Dan Collins, already familiar with Monika from a previous role, advocated for its use again at Liverpool Women’s.
The main advantage of Monika is that we can constantly record and provide evidence of our medicine storage and our temperatures… it frees up staff time.
Preventing Issues Before They Become Problems
Monika has proven valuable not only for routine monitoring but also for identifying and resolving hidden risks. During the summer, the system flagged that certain storage rooms were exceeding +25°C. Thanks to this data, Dan was able to push for and secure the installation of air conditioning units.
The system monitors:
- Chilled medication: +2 – +8°C
- Frozen vaccines and other goods: -10 – -25°C
- Ambient temperatures: +15 – +25°C
When temperatures fall outside these ranges, staff receive alerts. Dan explains how this process is tailored and escalated when necessary:
If alerts aren’t acknowledged in time, they escalate through the hospital—and crucially, to the pharmacy—so we can act.
Minimising Waste, Maximising Safety
With Monika, the hospital has significantly reduced unnecessary medication waste. Previously, temperature breaches might go unnoticed with paper-based systems, resulting in the disposal of valuable medicines.
Now we get quick alerts and detailed information… meaning we can make informed decisions and act appropriately.
Trusted Technology for Patient Care
Dan recommends the Monika system to other hospitals and healthcare organisations:
The system allows us to provide assurance around our medication storage… we can ensure they’ve been stored safely.
Please click on the YouTube clip at the top of this page to see the Monika system in action in this busy pharmacy environment.