INFECTION CONTROL
A good mix of air Frank Mills is well known by many hospital engineers – among his many achievements he is a past chair of the CIBSE Healthcare Group, and the leader of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers COVID-19 Task Force. He says: “It’s important to have a good mix of air flow – re-circulating air, and clean air – with fresh air. The solution at Maidstone Hospital is not full fresh air as in HTM 03-01: Specialised ventilation in healthcare buildings, but it offers an effective solution in CFU count reductions in air ventilation systems. “HTM 03-01 was first published in
1995, and 55% of UK hospitals were built before that time. Due to this, many UK hospitals do not comply unless they have undertaken refurbishment work to these current criteria standards. As a consulting engineer, I work with many healthcare projects where it is found that there is not much ventilation. “Many people assume that effective
filtration in a system will render efficient air filtration. As a principle, if it is possible to reduce the viral load, many assume this will be satisfactory in reducing airborne contamination. In hospitals the number of air changes per hour is a minimum of 10. This varies depending on the area concerned, and increases in clinical areas with critical air quality requirements.
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Frank Mills: “It’s important to have a good mix of air flow – re-circulating air, and clean air – with fresh air. The solution at Maidstone Hospital is not full fresh air, but it offers an effective solution in CFU count reductions in air ventilation systems”
Effective in destroying airborne viremia “UV-C has had an application in ventilation for many years, and is effective as it destroys airborne viremia. One of the main benefits of UV-C applications is that they do not cause the substantial pressure drops in a ventilation system that filters do. This application also contributes to Net Zero carbon reduction, and can eliminate a number of filters in the ventilation system. At Maidstone Hospital we managed to give them what they wanted. It’s an application that other hospitals might like to consider, particularly in the light of COVID, and our understanding of airborne pathogens.” Frank Mills adds: “There’s a lot of kit out
there that’s nowhere near the standard required, and not sustainable. We want to nurture a market of UK and European manufacturers who can produce a quality, sustainable product at the right price. It’s standard practice not to re-circulate air. However, the Trust was already considering
the task of decarbonisation when COVID introduced new dimensions into ventilation systems. The solution we’ve come up with here is a great step forward for the Trust in achieving its target. It’s a pioneering project developed in conjunction with Tim Fletcher, who I must also give due acknowledgement to for the work he’s done on developing the scheme.”
Treating the viral load Developing Midtherm’s UV-C system at the time was Applications engineer, Gordon Hurst, who says: “I applaud Tim for the way he’s dealt with this. If you treat the viral load, you’ll achieve a reduction. The best position to install the RAP’s UV-C unit was in the return air flexible duct-connected high-velocity air-conditioning unit. “The NHS can’t ignore this. The energy
savings can be significant. You can use nearly all your existing cooling load and reduce the viral load at the same time, with next to no additional power required. The
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