WATER HYGIENE & SAFETY
that’s been made available in recent years has made adapting facilities at pace easier. Digital taps offer precise control over water flow times to support handwashing. As well as this, significant advancements have been made in digital valve technology. Not only do digital thermostatic mixing valves (TMVs) now sit inside the tap rather than externally, but innovations in design and engineering mean these components also actively support reduction of microbial growth. “Enhanced resistance to microbes is especially useful where teams have needed to expand handwashing provision urgently, with temporary installations in areas such as visitor entrances. It’s the assurance that these installations are not only providing more handwashing access, but are also optimised for water safety and infection control.”
Not just a ‘symptom’ of the pandemic
While David Merriman has seen an acceleration in digital non-touch products being specified, he doesn’t think this is exclusively a symptom of the pandemic: “I think the conditions, and increasing innovations in creating digital products, mean this is something we would’ve seen anyway – although perhaps not at the speed at which Estates teams have been forced to adapt by COVID-19.” Matt Whiting echoes his comments on trends in water controls technology being ‘accelerated, rather than redefined’, by the COVID-19 pandemic. He says: “Rada’s service team is always ready to provide the right support frameworks to our customers. We recognise that the need to be flexible and able to respond quickly is key to what we do, so have been able to respond to urgent call-outs and commissioning requests for ward handovers throughout the pandemic. “No NHS estate is the same as the next – that’s true for the scale of assets, product needs, and staff resource. Increasingly, our healthcare customers have outsourced key aspects of service to us, and I think that’s because our knowledge of products as the manufacturer is trusted in terms of responsibility and duty of care. Thermostatic taps, showers, and valves are essential for safety and supporting infection control, but they can often be complex pieces of equipment,” he explains. “I know this is easy for me to say as a Service manager for a water controls manufacturer, but we’re best placed to provide the service support these products need because we make them. We know the products and their servicing requirements inside
54 Health Estate Journal March 2021
The Rada Intelligent Care thermostatic basin tap offers timed flow and precise water temperature control.
out, and also benefit from support mechanisms and features that only a manufacturer can provide. It means when we provide support to Estates teams, they have the confidence to leave this to us, and to focus on other areas where they’re needed, or to support care delivery.
The longer-term direction of travel Both Matt Whiting and David Merriman agree that what they’ve seen over the past year reflects the longer-term direction of travel with water controls technology. While Covid-19 has dictated demand and access, the pandemic has brought issues that the latest product and service innovations can help address to the fore. David Merriman says: “Non-touch has been a focus for quite some time, and for good reason, but I think this reflects the fact that knowledge and design considerations of how these products work and how they prevent infection has increased. This is in part down to the way user-led research informs design,
so innovations are always evolving and responding to the sector’s changing needs.”
“I think something similar can be said for servicing needs,” agrees Matt Whiting. “Our provision of support services like commissioning, preventative maintenance, and interim checks, is now well established, and the field team is working regularly to help Estates teams meet requirements. What we’ve never done is to take a one-size-fits-all approach, and I think again, what we do to support products across their lifecycle is evolving in line with sector needs. We want to be solving problems before they even happen, and I think we’re starting to see the way working in partnership with NHS Trusts can help do that. We’re keen to continue evolving with the needs of healthcare estates personnel, and I think closer, more collaborative involvement is the best way to do that.”
The pair agree that the pandemic has accelerated these industry trends rather than defined them. Digital water controls technology, in particular, has been a growing focus of advancement. They see this as an area where there are still good gains to be made in how Estates can unlock real benefit.
An Intelligent Care thermostatic wall mount tap.
Unlocking the value of digital and IoT There are broader and coordinated moves across the NHS towards better digitisation in how care is delivered, evidenced by the launch of NHSX in 2019. Online GP consultations and the adoption of artificial intelligence
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