[AVBC 2025] Enhancing Surgical Drain Efficiency: Reducing Vacuum Loss for Better Wound Healing and Cost Saving
Care Process & Redesign
Appropriate & Value-based Care Conference
SingHealth
6 November 2025
Enhancing Surgical Drain Efficiency: Reducing Vacuum Loss for Better Wound Healing and Cost Saving. The initiatives led to measurable improvements in patient safety and overall experience, improved nursing efficiency, and reduction in.
Year Submitted: 2025
Published Date: 06 November 2025
Tags: Care Process ＆ Redesign, Cost Saving, Quality Improvement, Productivity, Workflow Redesign, Value Based Care, Safe Care, Time Saving
About this Content
Aims
Enhancing Surgical Drain Efficiency: Reducing Vacuum Loss for Better Wound Healing and Cost Saving.
Background
Surgical drains are commonly inserted to remove stagnant fluid from dead space formed during operation. However, incidences of premature vacuum loss can result in ineffective fluid drainage, potential hematoma or seroma formation, and increased risk of wound infection and delayed wound healing, contributing to higher hospital costs and greater nursing workload.
Methods
The team identified several root causes contributing to frequent vacuum loss incidents, including inadequate staff training, lack of standardization in connecting tube size cutting techniques, and unstable drain connections. PDSA cycles were implemented to address these issues, including staff training, standardization of tube cutting size, and drain connection stability improvements.
Results
The combined initiatives were applied to 101 drains over a 6-month period. The vacuum loss incidence dropped significantly, from 52.6% to 11.1%, representing a 79% reduction and 314 minutes of nursing time saved, resulting in an estimated cost saving of SGD440.
Conclusion
The initiatives led to measurable improvements in patient safety and overall experience, improved nursing efficiency, and reduction in hospitalization costs. The significant reduction in vacuum loss rate validates the effectiveness of the implemented strategies in enhancing surgical drain management.
Lessons Learnt
Challenges such as inadequate training and lack of standardization were addressed through systematic analysis and categorization, leading to improved practices and outcomes.
Keywords
Surgical drains, Vacuum loss, Cost saving, Wound healing
Innovators' Details
Innovators' Details
Healthcare Cluster(s) | SingHealth |
Organization(s) Involved | Sengkang General Hospital |
Platform(s) | Appropriate & Value-based Care Conference |
Healthcare Professional Group(s) | Nursing |
Applicable Specialty or Discipline | Surgery, Wound Care Medicine |
Project Lead(s) | Feng Jiajun |
Project Member(s) | Wang Qian |
Connect with this contributor!
Wang Qian - wang.qian.1@skh.com.sg