Innovation

Belgian National TV News features Orizon Smart as technology that can help release nurses’ heavy workload

Belgian National TV News features Orizon Smart as technology that can help release nurses’ heavy workload 883 523 Belén Laya Asensio

In July 2022, the Belgian Government announced an extra budget of 21 million euros to invest in innovative tools and technology that can help relieve some work pressure from nurses in hospitals.

As an example of how this special funding can be materialized, the Vitaz hospital in Sint-Niklaas, Belgium, presented this week to the press our Orizon Smart solution for incontinence. The Belgian minister of Public Health, Frank Vandenbroucke, also came personally to this hospital to see what results this type of technology is producing and to stress the importance of innovation as a key element to help lower the nurses’ work pressure and increase their satisfaction.

The problem of work pressure in nursing is enormous. The staff shortage is really acute, and they are under a lot of stress, so you have to take a whole battery of measures. Both, additional resources to recruit nurses, and of course, technology which is a big part of the answer. And that is why we are making this big investment in technology that improves the lives of nurses and healthcare professionals.
– Frank Vandenbroucke
Public Health Minister of Belgium

During this visit, Marie Blondeel, one of the nurses of the hospital, made a live demo of the solution and explained the key benefits she sees in using Orizon Smart regularly:

What we mostly notice is that we don’t need to disturb and wake up the patient so much. Those are bedridden patients who get really exhausted every time they are being turned around to change their incontinence products. As a consequence, they are often restless and agitated, especially at night.
– Marie Blondeel
Nurse

This solution increases the quality of care, and it also saves us time that we can spend with the patient.
– Marie Blondeel
Nurse

Curious to watch the full reportage? Check it out on VRT News (in Dutch) or on the regional TV for a longer version, TVO (in Dutch).

Orizon EuGMS

The European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) invites Ontex to present the Orizon Smart solution at their 18th international congress in London

The European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS) invites Ontex to present the Orizon Smart solution at their 18th international congress in London 1200 600 Anna Lambrix

As a proud sponsor of the European Geriatric Medicine Society, Ontex attended the last edition of the EuGMS congress to promote our new Smart solution within an international audience.

We met with a lot of interesting people, mostly from the medical field, that were really impressed and enthusiastic with our solution. We were lucky enough to receive plenty of positive feedback and inspiration from these experts.

EuGMS congress

We also had the chance to organise a lunch session with the EuGMS Urinary Incontinence Special Interest Group, focused on sharing clinical and industry updates on incontinence care. Helen Seymour, our UK Healthcare Commercial Director, presented the latest results from several European trials of the Orizon Smart solution, generating a lot of interest among the audience.

Session
Session
Orizon Press Event

Press event with the Flemish government ministers to announce Orizon Smart test results at a care home

Press event with the Flemish government ministers to announce Orizon Smart test results at a care home 1920 886 Anna Lambrix

Our Executive Vice President R&D & Sustainability, Annick De Poorter, has spoken at a press event in Belgium, announcing the results of a smart incontinence care project at a nursing home that tested our Orizon Smart solution for several weeks.

Presentation

Ministers of the Flemish government, Hilde Crevits and Jo Brouns, attended the session together with the care home group director to learn more about the Orizon Smart solution and discuss how the use of these technologies can significantly improve elderly care.

Learning

Some of the key results presented during this event related to the optimization of incontinence product consumption and cost, as well as the increase in comfort and quality of sleep of the residents. An accurate monitoring of the saturation level of these products means that it is not always needed to disturb the residents at night for a check.

By the end of the event, all participants and attendees were reassured of the importance of innovation in the care industry and the potential of the solutions like Orizon Smart.

Group

Orizon Smart presented at the Altenpflege fair in Essen, Germany

Orizon Smart presented at the Altenpflege fair in Essen, Germany 2560 1707 Belén Laya Asensio

From April 25th to 27th 2022, the Messe Essen exhibition centre hosted the Altenpflegue fair. With over 20.000 attendees, it is one of the most important meeting places for the care industry in Germany.

Every year, the latest developments, products and services for inpatient and outpatient care are showcased during this 3-day congress and we couldn’t miss the opportunity to be there and show our latest innovation on incontinence care management, our Orizon Smart solution.

Together with our local partner, the GVS group, we set up a big booth with an exclusive demo lab on the upper floor where we could do live demos of the solution and experience the first impressive reactions from our visitors:

The use of this solution would be a relief. You don’t have to wake up the resident at night and can let people sleep through. For the resident this is phenomenal, and for the caregiver this means an enormous reduction in workload.

– Jennifer De Vaal
Intensive Care Ventilation Specialist

I definitely see a significant time-saving. It would give more time for other things, like playing games and talking with the residents. I wouldn’t have to check every time if the patient is wet. It’s a perfect solution for everyday care.

– Ute Haiplik
Intensive Care Specialist

Seeing the positive feedback and the excitement of the attendees from the elderly care industry was incredibly encouraging and reassured us of the potential of our Orizon Smart solution.

Our Commercial Director Healthcare Germany, Detlef Röseler, had the chance to give a presentation at the forum to explain more in detail what our solution is about to a broader audience.

We were very happy with the interest generated and we look forward to connecting again in 2023!