INFECTION CONTROL
Disposable curtains offer ‘a more sustainable option’
HEJ editor, Jonathan Baillie, talks to Steve Parker, Operations manager at Marlux Medical, about the growth in demand for disposable privacy curtains during the pandemic, current best practice in curtain changing, and the latest technology developments that are helping to make disposable privacy curtains a more sustainable option for NHS Trusts.
Steve, I imagine that the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in much higher demand for disposable privacy curtains? Is this the case? You’re correct, Jonathan. Disposable
privacy curtains came to the fore during the pandemic. Hospitals recognised the benefits associated with being able to quickly change the curtains and dispose of them through their existing waste management channels, rather than having to launder vast volumes of linen curtains and incur the associated laundering costs. With privacy curtains being changed much more frequently during the pandemic, and many hospitals setting up additional treatment bays, Marlux experienced a 200% increase in demand between March 2020 and April 2021. We also noticed a marked increase in the number of NHS Trusts approaching us for guidance on best practice in fitting, replacing, and recycling, disposable curtains.
What measures did you put in place to be able to cope with this increase in demand? We are very fortunate in that we are a
UK-based manufacturer, and we carry a large stock of raw material, so we weren’t hit with major supply chain disruptions. By adapting our manufacturing process, we were able to meet the unprecedented demand for disposable curtains from both existing and new customers both throughout the UK and further afield. Our manufacturing facility, in Coleshill, Birmingham, remained open throughout the pandemic, and we increased our production capacity by putting on a night shift and bringing in additional local staff. By doubling our shifts and only closing on Saturday and Sunday afternoons, we were able to keep up with demand. We were able to work to COVID workplace requirements, and we were very fortunate to not have any staff fall ill due to COVID. We made sure every customer had sufficient supplies – whether they had a long-standing supply contract with us, or had simply come to us because they
Marlux Medical says its Fast-Fit system ensures that curtains can be easily taken down and replaced in less than three minutes, with all hooks fully populated.
were unable to source supply through their usual channels and were running very low on curtain stock. Our production capabilities meant we could change order and volume priorities at very short notice.
Did you develop any products or solutions specifically to aid hospitals during the pandemic? Yes. We developed two temporary
structures to enable cubicle privacy solutions – MediPod privacy cubicles and MediMobile. The pods can be
configured to create individual or groups of privacy bays, which made them ideal for temporary field hospitals and mobile vaccination centres. MediMobile is a free-standing temporary privacy curtain on a portable trolley which can be easily moved around the hospital to offer privacy in temporary treatment areas.
There has been a marked increase in the use of antimicrobial additives in different materials found in wards, including disposable privacy curtains. Can you
March 2022 Health Estate Journal 51
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