Natural, Airborne Killer
Peter Dyment, of Camfil, explains why flexible air filtration systems should be a high priority in healthcare facilities, given the link to the spread of MRSA.
Nowhere is air filtration more important than in healthcare facilities. The level of airborne infectious contaminants increases proportionately with the increased population density of infected individuals. A recent article in the CIBSE Journal, claims that healthcare facilities are failing to contain airborne infections transmitted via poorly maintained ventilation and air conditioning systems, according to a leading indoor air quality specialist.
Dr Ghasson Shabha, Senior Lecturer
at Birmingham School of the Built Environment, told a webinar hosted by the CIBSE ASHRAE Group that the threat posed by dirty ductwork is often overlooked by healthcare professionals, who fail to put planned maintenance strategies in place because the source of the infections is ‘out of sight, out of mind’. He also criticised the fact that only around 5% of air conditioning systems have been inspected, despite this now being a mandatory requirement under European regulations.
Bacterial spores in ductwork can
often be behind outbreaks of MRSA and other serious infections in hospitals and clinics, he told his global audience, which included members of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) and the Institute of Healthcare Engineering and Estate Management (IHEEM). Shabha said: “The healthcare environment is a reservoir for potentially infective agents, which can spread unpredictably in ventilation and air conditioning systems, making the risk difficult to control and manage. People seeking timely information about the patterns of cross-infection are in urgent need of better data.”
He also commented on how the ventilation hygiene industry is eager to address this potentially fatal problem, but facilities managers don’t have a system of information exchange that would highlight the risks, or the extent of the problem across the whole healthcare sector. He advocated a system – being piloted by Leicester and Rutland NHS Trusts – which uses wireless sensors embedded into mechanical ventilation, air conditioning and plumbing systems to assess the risk of airborne infection. This provides real-time data to a remote web server accessible by all healthcare FMs.
He added that 3D building information modelling software could also help ventilation specialists
38 | HEALTHCARE & HOSPITAL HYGIENE
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