OPERATING THEATRE TECHNOLOGY
Starkstrom clinical pendants are designed and manufactured in the UK to meet specific customer needs, and supplied so that they can be used ‘straight from the box’.
for patients), or electric shock hazards (to patients and staff). It is recommended by several international and UK standards that medical IT (IPS) be used for circuits supplying medical electrical life-support equipment or in areas where intra-cardiac procedures are performed. A medical IT system (IPS) is recommended over the standard TN
Earthed Supply systems (the normal supply system for most industrial, commercial, and domestic applications), as it has several advantages, including the detection (via an alarm) of the insulation level of medical equipment dropping below pre-set parameters. UPS systems are also a critical part of a hospital’s power supply
infrastructure. When coupled with IPS systems and back-up generators, they provide the operating room and other critical care areas with continuity of power in the event of a supply failure. IEC 60364-7-710 and HTM 06-01 state that in the event of loss of power, all the medical locations where isolated power is installed (that is, “Group 2” and “Clinical Category 5” locations) require power to be resumed (for life supporting equipment) within a maximum of 0.5 seconds. The guidance further states that “Certain microprocessor-controlled equipment may require a no-break power supply”. With a long history of working with its UPS partner, Power Control Limited, Starkstrom can provide a fully integrated package of a UPS system feeding into a medical IT (IPS) system, while the remote alarms for these systems can be integrated as a single remote alarm displayed on the Theatre Control Panel. By further integrating this within the Building Management System (BMS), email alerts can be sent across the hospital network.
Sustainability Initiatives such as Green Theatres and the drive for sustainability in the NHS are also shaping the way operating theatre technologies are evolving. Guy Pomroy commented that Starkstrom is increasingly focusing on ensuring low power consumption. Operating theatres are recognised as energy ‘hotspots’, and are six times more energy-intense than hospitals as a whole,1
conditioning requirements. A paper by MacNeill et al has previously estimated that the carbon footprint of surgery in the three countries they studied was 9.7 million tonnes of CO2
e per year.
However, another way that suppliers can improve sustainability is to ensure their technologies are long-lasting and reliable, so they are “not being replaced unnecessarily.” Guy Pomroy highlighted the need for a shift to value-based
procurement as part of a drive for greater sustainability, while future- proofing operating theatre technology is also important.
Infection prevention It is widely recognised that the most sustainable surgical procedure is one that prevents surgical site infection. Infections increase the use of costly hospital resources, and lead to readmissions, repeat surgeries, and longer hospital stays. This is in addition to the human cost. Guy
April 2025 Health Estate Journal 51
primarily due to heating, ventilation, and air-
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