ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS
Ensuring critical power needs are properly met
Healthcare providers have a duty of care to patients. Along with nursing and medical staff, this includes the requirement that healthcare estates and facilities management and healthcare engineering personnel ensure that appropriate governance arrangements for critical power back-up at their particular healthcare facility are managed effectively. Alex Emms, Technical director at Kohler Uninterruptible Power (KUP), looks at some of the key considerations.
Healthcare-specific technical engineering guidance is a vital tool in the safe and efficient operation of healthcare facilities, so that if disturbances to mains power do occur, patient or staff safety is not in danger. The key challenges in protecting critical power in healthcare situations include: n Compliance with multiple guidelines, regulations, and healthcare-specific standards, including HTM 06-01.
n Maintaining and expanding legacy estates incorporating equipment from multiple suppliers.
n Handling the space, weight, and temperature demands of power protection systems in buildings rarely designed to house them.
n Defining where Medical IT, UPS, and emergency lighting systems are needed, and then scheduling servicing.
n High variations and/or continual growth in load.
As healthcare facilities, and operating
theatres in particular, rely heavily on technology for patient care, it is crucial to have reliable power protection solutions in place. There are many considerations on the most suitable systems, how they are designed to work together, and how they integrate with other legacy equipment. There are compliance requirements from HTM 06-01 and BS 7671 with regulation on the integration of a UPS into the electrical infrastructure to ensure a well-designed, reliable, and resilient system in a hospital or other medical facility.
Medical IT systems – evaluating risk to business continuity With Medical IT systems, there is no standard ‘one size fits all’ solution. Estates and facilities managers, healthcare engineers, and system designers, must evaluate risk to business continuity, fault clearance, batteries, and selecting a UPS for Medical IT. This is not to mention a system’s carbon footprint, new installations, or who on the team has the correct technical knowledge to hand.
As healthcare facilities and operating theatres in particular rely heavily on technology for patient care, it is crucial to have reliable power protection solutions in place.
Ensuring that critical power and back-
up is covered – to keep patients safe, and literally keep the lights on in medical facilities – is a big ask. Collaborating with suppliers and consultants who understand current and future challenges, and who can make this decision-making process much simpler, is as important as the vital signs routinely monitored by medical professionals and healthcare providers.
What sorts of power back-up are needed? With hospitals and other medical facilities needing to be operational 24/7, the need for resilient back-up power solutions has never been greater. Even a short power failure can be extremely damaging to operational continuity, and, more importantly, patient safety. These problems can be avoided by using an uninterruptible power supply (UPS), which protects critical devices from power disturbances ranging from fluctuations, spikes, and dips, to total power failure. If the power
goes out, a healthcare facility also has a duty of care to keep its people – patients, staff, visitors, and contractors – safe. Having robust life safety and emergency lighting protection is critical to ensure that evacuations can happen safely, critical procedures can be completed, and those unable to be evacuated in the case of an emergency can be properly cared for.
UPS fundamentals:
What are the requirements for UPS in healthcare settings? The requirements for UPS in healthcare settings are set out in guidance that primarily includes HTM 06-01 and BS 7671. The requirements look at the load management for UPS, including considerations for power supply and redundancy, and can be found in HTM 06-01 Chapter 11 and BS 7671 Chapters 56 and 710. Nowadays, ideally the power protection
system comprises a modern, modular UPS system that can deliver greater
February 2024 Health Estate Journal 61
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 |
Page 73
