PRODUCT FOCUS: HOSPITALS & HEALTHCARE FACILITIES CREATING CONVENIENCE
Trudi Osborne, Marketing Manager at Airdri, shares her top tips on developing an accessible washroom, purpose-built for the healthcare sector.
Infection control starts in the washroom with good hand hygiene, particularly when it comes to care homes and healthcare facilities, where there is often a higher risk of illness and infection.
Ensuring that your washroom is both inviting and inclusive is key to encouraging people to use it. If your facilities are tricky to manoeuvre around or aren’t user friendly, many will simply avoid using them. Accessibility has to be a number one priority when it comes to design and equipment purchases.
1. Keep floor and lower-wall
space free Washrooms in the healthcare setting are often designed to allow plenty of space for those with walking aids or wheelchair users. However, unfortunately, many are let down by the addition of bulky apparatus which, quite simply, get in the way. Maintaining streamlined surfaces, with slim line products, can make manoeuvring around the washroom a much easier and more pleasant experience.
2. Consider the impact of noise The initial burst of loud noise when a hand dryer is activated can startle many, but it can actually become quite distressing for the elderly or those living with a condition such as dementia or autism. Hand dryer noise level should be an important consideration for healthcare operators when making a purchase.
With over 45 years’ experience in hand dryer design and manufacture, we have created some of the quietest, most effective hand dryers on the market. We have worked tirelessly over the years to lead the way and shape industry standards around sound level reduction, and today, we remain as committed as ever to this standard.
3. Make them user friendly There’s much more to an accessible washroom than simply creating ample space. The position of equipment should also be considered – for example, make sure the hand basin and hand dryer are placed close enough to the toilet so that users can effectively wash and dry their hands without having to manoeuvre around too much. If you don’t get the positioning right, and make the handwashing process as easy as possible, it’s more likely that people will skip this important step in hygiene practice.
4. Built to last If a dispenser has run out of soap or a hand dryer is out of order, many will simply find an alternative washroom, or
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worryingly, not bother washing their hands at all. But for those with mobility issues, locating a suitable alternative isn’t always an option, so it’s vital to invest in the products that will go the distance, as well as deliver an effective service.
Eliminating problems relating to the wear and tear of motor brushes, by using the latest motor technology, means that, on average, our hand dryers have a lifespan of around 6,000 hours – six times longer than that of other similar, fast dry models. In fact, when placed on lifecycle testing, the Quantum jet dryer lasts for over 10,000 hours. With most other popular jet dryer units only lasting for approximately 1,000 hours, the Airdri Quantum represents a very significant saving in both running costs and environmental impact.
5. Go Green Whether it’s a care home, hospital, GP surgery or dentist, regardless of the surroundings, sustainability should always be a key consideration when making a washroom purchase. To be truly ‘green’, a hand dryer must consume very little power, in fact, under 1,000 watts. This is where our Airdri Quazar and Airdri Quantum models tick another box, as they both achieved the coveted GreenSpec status following an assessment of their energy conservation and waste-free operation. This means that they not only benefit buyers but also reflect your wider social responsibility.
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