The Community Kit Bag explores a new NHS department: Audiology

The Community Kit Bag is loved by an increasing number of district nurses nationwide so why not introduce them to community audiology teams for the same reaction? The audiology team at North Tees and Hartlepool NHS Foundation Trust have recently received their Community Kit Bags and are delighted with how practical they are.

We sat down with two audiologists based at North Tees hospital, Emma and Trevor, who have already noticed a difference since beginning to use the kit bag system. The audiology team are currently benefitting from the full kit bag range, including a shoulder bag, a wheeled bag and a backpack. Trevor has the shoulder bag and mentions that it’s very ‘secure’ and feels ‘professional’ due to the logo being on the bag. Emma added that ‘we like the laptop section’ and the bag can also be ‘used like a table’ as they’re ‘often in people’s houses that haven’t got a lot of room’.

The original bags used by the audiology team were described as having equipment ‘all over the place’, whereas the kit bag is extremely organised and enables the team to keep their stock in separate compartments and sufficiently refilled when required.

Emma continued to explain that the vital infection prevention control qualities of the bag were ‘the main factor’ in convincing the team to begin utilising the kit bag system. The bags that the audiology team were using before the kit bags were difficult to clean, whereas the Community Kit Bag can be wiped clean with little hassle and guarantees IPC compliance with robust materials and specialist zip tracks. Emma explained that:

‘Although in our job we don’t come into contact with many infectious patients, we go from house to house and it’s important we can wipe our luggage thoroughly in between to prevent any risk of transfer from one patient’s house to the next.’

Trevor even suggested that the bags could be used for recreational purposes, specifically as fishing luggage. He commented that ‘fishing luggage is fairly waterproof but you don’t get waterproof zips and the robustness that’s on the Community Kit Bag’, adding that the bag ‘is more robust that some of the kit that I take fishing and that gets dragged through brambles’. Thanks for the suggestion, Trevor! We’ll be sure to keep it in mind.

Click here to enquire about the Community Kit Bag.