DECONTAMINATION FACILITIES
Cleanroom monitoring system shows its benefits
NHS Orkney has recently extended its use of neQis independent monitoring solutions, adding continuous particle monitoring for the cleanroom of its central decontamination unit. Now all the department’s key parameters are continuously monitored using neQis solutions – independent product release, pressure, temperature, humidity, rinse water conductivity, RO system and, most recently, cleanroom particle counters. Independent monitoring solutions specialist, neQis, reports.
Gary Drever, the Central Decontamination Unit manager at NHS Orkney’s The Balfour Hospital in Forelands Road, Kirkwall, explains that while NHS Orkney was in the process of drawing up plans for its new hospital and healthcare facility, it came across neQis during a visit to Golden Jubilee Hospital, in Glasgow. He explained: “At the time, the independent monitoring system (IMS) installed on the washer-disinfectors and autoclaves at our old hospital was no longer being supported. We needed something to see us through until the new hospital and healthcare facility opened, and installed neQis to keep the system going while this was built.” He continued: “NHS Orkney has a Health Edge track and trace system, and on installing the neQis IMS, we worked with Health Edge and neQis to interlink the systems so that the neQis IMS gave us a ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. As with any new system, we had a few teething problems that Health Edge was able to resolve with the Central Decontamination Department (CDU). It gave us the reassurance that an operator cannot knowingly unload a failed cycle. The system checks that the cycle numbers match. It’s all running smoothly, and the team is happy with the system. It was so successful that when we went out to tender for the CDU in the new hospital, we specified that the washer-disinfectors, autoclaves, and endoscope washer- disinfectors were compatible with neQis.”
Addition of pressure monitoring In fact the NHS Orkney team was so impressed with neQis that even before the move from the old hospital, its use was expanded further with the addition of pressure monitoring. “We were only due to be in the old hospital about a year, so we added the bare minimum,” explained Gary Drever. “SHBN 13 (a Scottish Health Building Note) defines what room pressure should be. Being a relatively old guide, it specifies Magnehelic gauges which must be re-calibrated every year. We decided on all electronic gauges using neQis. I
64 Health Estate Journal April 2022
The Balfour Hospital in Kirkwall, Orkney.
think that at the time we were the first CDU in Scotland to use neQis for pressure monitoring within rooms. The system measured the pressure in gowning room to cleanroom, gowning room to corridor, and wash area to cleanroom. In all, the neQis system was used for about 18 months in the old hospital.
Specified for new hospital “Once we saw the system’s success, NHS Orkney agreed that when the new hospital and healthcare facility was built it would use neQis for all environmental monitoring for the CDU – temperature and humidity, and pressure monitoring in all the rooms surrounding the cleanroom. We were the first new build CDU in Scotland for eight or nine years, and went for best practice, specifying neQis as standard. We’ve taken it to the ‘nth’ degree.” Gary Drever added: “neQis is a cloud-based system, so it’s relatively easy to expand its use. I can view all the parameters on a dashboard on a PC, tablet, or mobile phone, from any location,
which will show all the details and trends. “Since moving into the new CDU,
we’ve added temperature monitoring in chemical stores and temperature and humidity monitoring in the cleanroom and material store. A peracetic acid (PAA) vapour monitoring system was added to the endoscope wash area. This alarms to alert staff working in the area if the levels
Gary Drever, Central Decontamination Unit manager at NHS Orkney (left), and Rob Willington, Technical Services manager at neQis (right).
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