HOSPITAL & HEALTHCARE FACILITIES
control processes. Some procedures may be hasty and rely on a single chemical disinfection.
W.E.T’s research has shown that following hand and bucket cleaning, organic matter is left behind in the hoses, which goes on to become a food source through a process of necrophagy for pioneering bacteria coming in from the mains supply. Therefore, hand and bucket cleaning processes could actually be exacerbating the problem of microbiological proliferation in shower hoses.
What alternative solutions are available? In 2010, it was widely broadcast through an estates alert by the Department of Health, that flexible water supply hoses may have an enhanced risk of harbouring harmful microorganisms. Evidence pointed towards problems with the materials used to manufacture the products such as EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer) rubber. In many cases, healthcare providers resorted to replacing under sink flexi hoses with fixed plumbing. To date, flexi hoses installed on showers have not come under the same scrutiny. This may be because they can’t be ‘designed out’ and were believed to be subjected to an effective and regular cleaning regime.
One of the ways the market has responded to this problem, is the use of disposable antimicrobial shower heads and hoses, but this is an over-engineered, expensive and wasteful solution. During W.E.T’s research, it was also observed that in some cases, the actually hose being supplied under these contracts was not actually impregnated with the silver ions, again as a result of the market focussing too much of their attention of the shower head instead.
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An alternative solution being adopted by NHS Trusts and FMs alike is an innovative service offered by W.E.T, developed and launched following a successful pilot in 2017. The Hygiene 20™ Shower Management system overcomes the challenges of the existing procedures and has been evidenced to achieve superior performance of cleaning having undertaken trials with microbiologist Professor Hilton.
W.E.T’s new production facility can manage the cleaning of 10,000s of showers; more economically and effectively than any known process available today, proven to kill 99.9% of bacteria. The Hygiene 20™ Shower Management solution is an innovative six-stage process available for NHS Estates to outsource the cleaning of their showers via a ‘collection, clean and return’ process. The showers are collected from sites, inspected, bar coded for audit purposes and sent through the six-stage Shower Management process from decontamination to final pasteurisation and returned to site.
What’s next? W.E.T is continuing its research, highlighting the need for an alternative, sustainable solution to prevent the risk of infection and recontamination of shower heads and hoses in healthcare settings. They believe that a combination of a suitable and improved product design with antimicrobial properties, combined with an effective shower cleaning system such as Hygiene 20™ Shower Management, is sure to be the most-effective and compliant solution, alongside effective water hygiene control schemes.
www.wet-services.com/services/shower_management.php TOMORROW’S FM | 69
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