OXYGEN SYSTEMS
considered PPE and asset cleaning procedures, reinforcing and using good hygiene practices among our team, and increasing cleaning and disinfection.
Support for 12 hospital upgrades This regime was important both on Air Products sites, and elsewhere, with many of our team involved in the delivery of new infrastructure at the start of the pandemic. We have supported 12 hospital upgrades, including the installation of oxygen systems at the NHS Nightingale Hospital Birmingham and NHS Louisa Jordan in Glasgow. These two systems were engineered, procured, and built, in less than two weeks, before installation over the Easter weekend, ensuring an oxygen supply for 1,000 ventilated beds at each site. The upgrades undertaken by our Engineering team have resulted in more than 70,000 extra litres per minute in medical oxygen at hospitals across the UK. Throughout, our on-site teams stayed safe, maintaining social distancing, wearing PPE, and adhering to strict protocols and procedures, often far away from home. We also needed to adjust to a new way of working, appreciating that our staff and supply chain had to rely on flexible working to enable a higher level of production. In response, we adjusted our shift rotas to maximise production, scheduling, and delivery capabilities.
Protecting oxygen deliveries It wasn’t just our plant preparations that required thorough planning – the delivery process was another key element of the supply chain. Given the criticality of delivering vital medical oxygen supplies, and potential increases in demand, our contingency planning was focused
Liquid oxygen tanks in situ at the NHS Louisa Jordan Hospital in Glagsow.
strongly in this area. This meant we utilised the skills of our employees by redeploying them to support the delivery of bulk liquid supplies to hospitals and other key customers. Job roles were expanded to provide solutions which we knew would keep things moving – staff were no longer just thinking in terms of their normal day-to-day job roles, but were focused on keeping medical supply going day in, day out. To this end, we have made close to 2,500 medical oxygen deliveries since the end of March 2020. In practice, this meant redeploying staff working in quieter sectors to bolster the medical gases team.
This critical work was something we knew could not be delayed for any reason, and collaborative efforts with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) provided another layer of support. I’ve already touched on the
Ultra Clean Air, Anywhere Small, modular, air handling unit
• Client specified • Ultra Clean (UCV) • Postive pressure • Negative pressure • User/BMS control
• Fixed or Mobile • ULPA15 or HEPA14 • EN14644 Part 3 • Low cost • Low running cost
Web:
www.airsentry.co.uk
• Rental available • British product • Easily deployed
• Increased hourly air changes between AGP
Tel: 01666 818087 March 2021 Health Estate Journal 67
different ways the pandemic have forced all of us to think beyond our normal options for new solutions, and this is a prime example. You hear about soldiers being mobilised to assist with response in times of national crisis, and this proved true here. MoD personnel were trained by our experienced drivers in the transportation of medical gases, adding another layer of staff ready to deliver supplies at short notice.
Focus on adequate supply right from the start
While this additional capacity has not yet been needed, the preparations made speak to the concern over gas supply at the start of the pandemic, and the seriousness of the preparations taken to ensure that supply would continue to be distributed through any circumstances.
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