COVER STORY
Intelligent Care: setting new standards in infection control to create better patient care
The latest innovation for the healthcare sector from water controls specialist, Rada, is designed to set a new standard for the role a tap can play in creating safer spaces. Stuart Skinner, Senior Product Manager at Rada, explains how.
The importance of tackling healthcare- associated infections (HCAIs) will be an issue well known to all those working in healthcare – and not without good reason. Despite huge strides in improving infection control and introducing new measures and tools to combat the spread of bacteria, HCAIs continue to be a global challenge. According to the World Health Organization, they claim 37,000 lives in Europe alone every year. What research and studies have shown is that if we are to continue to tackle HCAIs, every part of a healthcare building needs to be optimised for infection control. And it was with this key aim in mind that we challenged ourselves to set a new standard for how a tap could contribute. ‘Intelligent Care’ is our latest generation of digital taps designed specifically to meet the exacting demands of healthcare environments. It is the result of a design and development journey informed by user-led research and feedback from frontline staff and estates teams. So, what did we learn, and how have we used that learning to create a new generation of tap?
Removing the risk of cross-infection Pathogens that cause bacterial or viral illnesses can live on hard surfaces for some time, so it is vital that components like taps actively support staff in delivering safer, cleaner care. For water controls, that means promoting cleanliness. Intelligent Care is designed to resist the growth of infection-causing pathogens at every opportunity. The panel and basin- mounted taps all have chrome-coated exterior surfaces with no joins and crevices, removing areas typically prone to bacterial growth. The smooth surface
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Water flow times can be programmed to support the specific handwashing protocols that nurses, doctors, and surgeons must follow according to the application setting.
and ergonomic design also make cleaning the tap easier and more effective. Cross-infection risks from component surfaces to hand can also contribute to the prevalence of HCAIs. This made user interaction a key design consideration for Rada. Intelligent Care can be operated using non-touch control, minimising the risk of bacteria spreading through contact. Its gesture control options have a simple interface with clear graphics, so water temperatures can also be easily adjusted without needing to touch the tap.
Rada’s approach to infection control through design extends to the engineering of Intelligent Care’s internal workings. Its brass valve engine, integral smooth bore copper outlet pipe, and the basin mount version’s copper inlet tails, are all created out of carefully selected materials that offer enhanced microbe resistance. An open bore flow insert is removeable for easy cleaning and maintenance access.
At the heart of each Intelligent Care tap is a pioneering digital thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) that enhances safety and infection control with digital precision. Through advances in design, and with smarter engineering, the digital valve is now small enough to locate integrally within the tap body, rather than remotely. The water contact surface area has been
significantly reduced, and internal waterways simplified, which – alongside the materials used – helps to reduce the opportunity for bacterial growth and biofilm formation.
Enhancing infection control measures through digital innovation The benefits of having the digital TMV within the tap itself are significantly greater than water temperature control at point of use alone. It also helps to automate labour-intensive hygiene protocols, and provides the ability to automatically log evidence that the protocol has been carried out. One of the key things we learned in our research was that implementing hygiene measures, such as duty flushing, was proving to be enormously time- consuming for healthcare teams. A ‘catch all’ approach was also resulting in systems being flushed even if they were in regular use. Record keeping showing compliance with guidelines was also often manual. It resulted in a process that was resource- intensive and open to the potential for human error. We recognised that intelligent, digital water controls provided an enormous opportunity to address this, improve infection control, and save resources.
One of the most significant advancements with Intelligent Care is
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