DESIGN, BUILD, AND ENGINEERING
instrumentation, and only hold so much contingency stock, and surgeons are often trialling loan instrumentation. Having a decontamination unit like this – with the necessary redundancy, resilience, and support – thus really helps the Trust in planning its theatre lists, with the certainty that it will have the instrumentation required. An added benefit is that lists can be ‘stretched’, with the confidence that instrumentation will be available.” Many of the instruments processed at the new decontamination supercentre are processed overnight, and returned to the hospital early in the morning. ‘Fast-track’ processing times are typically 4-5 hours. The ‘end-client’ for the new facility is Royal Free Property Services Ltd, the Trust’s decontamination arm. It currently serves Barnet Hospital, the new Chase Farm Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, and, in the near future, an upcoming major contract in Central London. The plan is for the unit to begin taking on further decontamination work for other NHS Trusts and healthcare providers over coming months. John Davies said: “It makes sense for the NHS – if it can – to make this type of facility a viable business undertaking work for other Trusts. There are undoubtedly other Trusts within the region with ageing CSSDs that can benefit from the services offered here, with the resulting revenue then available to invest back into clinical care.”
Re-locating people and equipment John Davies explained that CFES completed all the commissioning at the new facility in May 2019, followed, last August, by the Trust’s endoscopy services from Chase Farm transferring over first, and then the other CSSD services. The Trust had to re-locate both people and equipment, and get the instrument transportation working in phases, to ensure continuity of service. All the equipment and plant is new, apart from one load temperature steriliser, with equipment supply and procurement all part of the CFES brief. John Davies explained: “We and the Trust sought a partner with the ability to resource a project of this nature, because, for example, it was a very short, 10-week commissioning period for the washer- disinfectors, sterilisers, and endoscopy washers. The company selected needed both the skills and resource to undertake the capital installation and the machine testing and validation, but also to support us in the maintenance thereafter. Getinge offered a ‘one-stop shop’ for endoscopy; a proven endoscopy provision too – the Trust had good experience of its endoscopy reprocessing equipment at Chase Farm. With Getinge offering all the key decontamination, sterilisation, autoclave, and washer-disinfector equipment within its own portfolio, parts
50 Health Estate Journal August 2020
Fresh air intake and exhaust ductwork from the roof turrets.
availability should never be an issue. A number of competitors couldn’t offer the same comprehensive package.” John Davies added: “Our contract with Getinge stipulates that it must hold stock and critical spares on site, and be responsible for maintaining stock levels. There are Key Performance Indicators on which we report to the Trust monthly. If, for example, we are not providing the right quantities and pressures of services to the washers and autoclaves, they will not function correctly. Similarly, if the ventilation plant to the IAP (Inspection and Packing) room fails, the staff will not be able to use an area with some of the most labour-intensive activity. All the instrumentation that has been washed and disinfected ends up in the IAP, and has to be checked, inspected, sorted, and pack-wrapped there.”
A smooth commissioning process I asked John Davies if there were any elements of the project that had particularly pleased him. He said: “How smoothly the commissioning process
‘‘
The company selected needed both the skills and resource to undertake the capital installation and the machine testing and validation, but also to support us in the maintenance thereafter
went, with no major issues, and everything operating and performing to design. With a building this size, and the number of services we installed, that was a great result, and testament to the design, the quality of the installations, and us allocating proper time for the commissioning and rigorous integrated services testing.”
John Davies added that ‘from start to finish’, CFES and Getinge had enjoyed an excellent relationship with the Trust. He elaborated: “At CFES we always try to understand the nature of, and pressures entailed within, our clients’ business, and to be a partner, helping them overcome any challenges. On this scheme, at tender stage, we were interviewed by personnel from, among other areas, Finance, Procurement, and the user teams, including Decontamination project manager, Joanne Pearcy, and Mark Sibbons, as well as the Trust’s deputy director of Estates, Nigel Walker, with who we had extensive engagement over the unit’s design and build. We also liaised with the Trust’s IT and Security teams, and its Fire Safety officer.”
Security measures include external CCTV, access control at the main gates, and a security alarm system on all the external doors, although of course the supercentre is manned ‘24/7’. John Davies concluded: “Although a pretty complex facility to engineer, and not without its construction challenges, this was a very satisfying and rewarding project to work on, and what has pleased us particularly is the extremely positive feedback we have had on the difference the new facility is making to the efficiency and productivity of Mark Sibbons and his team.”
hej
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72
