INFECTION CONTROL
‘Pioneering’ UV-C system at Maidstone Hospital
A ‘pioneering trial’ at Maidstone Hospital in Kent has demonstrated the effectiveness of UV-C ventilation against bacteria and viruses in a clinical setting, together with the technology’s ability to enable significant energy-savings. Barry Paterson, director of Midtherm UV, a West Midlands manufacturer of UV-C air sanitisation products, reports.
The benefits of UV-C will be highlighted in the upcoming NHSE/NHSI Guidelines and Standards for the Application of Ultraviolet (UVC) Devices for Air Cleaning in Occupied Healthcare Spaces. This, coupled with growing concern about the risks from poor air quality or ventilation in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, has led to a demand for UV-C solutions from NHS Trusts and other healthcare providers around the UK, particularly with the increased focus on airborne transmission of infection due to COVID-19. Already widely used in healthcare settings in the US and some European countries, the sanitising effect of short- wavelength light in killing bacteria and inactivating viruses was discovered in 1878. Tasked with transforming an office and
staff room into a seven-bay RAP (Rapid Access Point) for incoming ambulance patients, Tim Fletcher, Mechanical project engineer at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospitals NHS Trust, explains: “In 2019, I was tasked with converting the office and staff room into a seven-bay assessment unit. As part of the programme we had to look at installing a ventilation system, where one did not exist, other than natural ventilation from fenestration.
High-velocity ventilation system “The ceiling voids were very low due to 60% of the area having a flat roof, and the limitations with a roof-mounted system meant we could not install a traditional ventilation system. It was decided that a high-velocity ventilation system, which allows smaller ductwork in the ceiling void, should be installed. I had previously
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Tim Fletcher, Mechanical project engineer, Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospitals NHS Trust.
used this type of solution successfully on other projects. The system functioned well, was good to install, and suited the RAP’s layout. We were going down that route when airborne bacterial and viral transmission became more prominent, and a particular issue due to COVID.” He added: “As we neared the end of
the project, we went into the March 2020 lockdown, and it became apparent that we needed to do additional work on the system as it is a return air heat recovery system – taking existing air within the area and recycling it back into the room, with the introduction of fresh air.” Tim Fletcher’s introduction to Frank
Tim Fletcher: “The ceiling voids were very low due to 60% of the area having a flat roof, and the limitations with a roof-mounted system meant we could not install a traditional system. It was decided that a high-velocity ventilation system, which allows smaller ductwork in the ceiling void, should be installed”
Mills, an accomplished ventilation expert, Chartered professional engineer, and founder member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers COVID-19 Task Force, led to the addition of UV-C to the system.
Key figures Frank Mills was working with Mike Ralph, Chief Engineer at NHSE/I, and Professor Tony Fisher, of Liverpool University, on establishing guidelines and standards for UV-C in the NHS. while another key figure in the industry, Gordon Hurst, had separately developed a ventilation UV-C filtration system. Tim Fletcher explains: “After discussing the type of system required with Frank and Gordon, it led me to being introduced to Barry Paterson of Midtherm UV. The Trust engaged a trial with Midtherm UV’s mobile UV-C filtration units as part of an NHS trial, with the agreement of Professor Tony Fisher, who was keen to see how the units performed in a clinical setting.” An independent company undertook air sampling in the already busy RAP prior
October 2022 Health Estate Journal 63
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