WATER HYGIENE & SAFETY
Close collaboration in an increasingly ‘digital’ arena
As a specialist in water controls for healthcare, Rada claims ‘a wealth of experience’ in creating products that deliver the best outcomes for end-users and estates teams. David Merriman, UK Sales manager, and Matt Whiting, Commercial service manager, discuss where product and service innovations are moving for healthcare, ‘exploring the trends that have been accelerated, rather than redefined, by the coronavirus pandemic’.
The past 12 months have been some of the most challenging faced by the NHS in its 72-year history. The pressures created by multiple surges of COVID-19 patients have shown just how resilient our health services and the staff that deliver care can be in the face of adversity. The work done to adapt both services and facilities to cater for this increase in demand has seen huge innovation from across the public and private sectors. And yet, as we look towards a future beyond the pandemic, there is growing need to upgrade NHS facilities so that the service’s excellent standards of care can continue to be
delivered. NHS Digital’s latest release of estates return information collection (ERIC) paints a revealing picture. The latest data shows that the maintenance backlog is growing. Costs to repair or replace estates assets in England alone that are out of date or deteriorating rose to £9 billion in 2019/20 – a 40 per cent increase on the previous year. While the government has directed capital funding towards tackling this backlog, there’s much more to be done. The good news is that industry innovations are beginning to deliver, and the future for estates increasingly looks set to harness the
capabilities that digital and connected technology can offer.
That’s what water controls specialist, Rada, is starting to see. The experience of working with the sector during its toughest period has shown the company that long-term trends in water controls technology are starting to take hold and shape what the future could look like. Mark Whiting and David Merriman have both been witness to the way that water control technology has evolved over the past two decades, and their belief is that ‘the NHS’s toughest years’ will give way to wider adoption of new technology, in turn making modernisation of the service’s complex network of buildings a reality.
Supporting estates
Trusts have dealt with the need to quickly increase capacity and enhance infection control measures over the last year. David Merriman has seen first-hand how a move towards more non-touch technology has helped. He says: “What we have seen, particularly in the summer months of last year, is a desire to upgrade facilities that support handwashing and infection control between lockdowns and the toughest pressure points.
“Non-touch taps were increasingly a specification choice across healthcare settings before the pandemic, but the desire and take-up of these products has jumped significantly over the past year. I think this is because of the recognition that ‘non-touch’ can help to significantly reduce surface transmission – one of the ways that coronaviruses such as COVID- 19 can spread.”
The Intelligent Care range is fully digital. A single tap or network of products can be connected to an existing building management system, or controlled directly by the Intelligent Care ‘app’ (pictured).
Reducing user interaction with surfaces that can harbour pathogens goes well beyond COVID. It’s always been a key infection control measure. David Merriman says he is seeing increasing recognition of the benefits that ‘more advanced’, digital non-touch options can offer. He says: “Obviously, product application is key to what’s specified, but I do think the broader range of non-touch
March 2021 Health Estate Journal 53
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