ENGINEERED SYSTEMS
Left: It is the computerisation rather than the physical properties behind the control of air movement that makes the modern pneumatic tube system so hi-tech.
Right: Aerocom (UK) says ‘the initial investment is recovered within several months of a system going into service’.
hospitals – and remember that is just specimens. A&E alone can account for up to 25% of the traffic flow of these largely unnoticed, but essential, hospital logistics services.
Reducing walking distances The complex network of tubes vastly reduces what would previously have been the walking distance for hospital porters and medical staff delivering samples, or trips between the pharmacy and the patient wards or day units. This therefore makes the tube network a much more efficient process, and takes pressure off the hospital staff. The tube system also works ‘24/7’, and never sleeps, eats, encounters security doors, uses lifts, has any distractions, time off, or holiday requirements. Additionally, it has been calculated that
it would take up to 30 extra porters in an average 1000-bed hospital to cover the same work as a site-wide PTS. The initial
investment is recovered within several months of a system going into service, which is a huge saving for the taxpayer and the hospital Trust alike. Medical staff, likewise, have more time to focus on patient care and patient therapy. A retrofit installation will typically take
a few months per project. With a new- build hospital, the PTS designer may team up with the main contractor’s design engineers possibly six years ahead of the actual installation. Putting a project together is like constructing a 3-D jigsaw with thousands of components. Aerocom’s design team, headed by Graeme Bell, pre-plans and co-ordinates all systems, working with building architects and design engineers to also develop new systems for future hospitals. Using the example of Bristol Royal Infirmary, which is operated by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust, the installed tube system includes 60 separate user group stations
throughout the complex, mainly for the transportation of patient specimens. Another larger capacity network of seven stations transports drugs from the pharmacy to the wards or clinic areas. The whole thing must be seamless and 100% reliable. Initially, hospitals utilised a basic point-
to-point system. However, pneumatic tube systems were enhanced by developers in conjunction with developments in computer software. As a result, modern multi-zone systems are controlled by a central computer system, complete with RFID tracking and diagnostics. These systems will cope with multiple simultaneous and tracked transportations.
Station sizes and designs Stations come in a range of sizes and designs. Standard design includes a loading port and an interface panel. With users keen to improve efficiency, the latest lab designs have features such as auto-unloading. Accessories can also be added to ensure safe and secure transport, including lockable receiving cabinets, or PIN code secured retrieval. Diverters placed within the system
Pneumatic tube systems are piped networks that propel cylindrical carriers (see inset) through arrays of tubes by low-pressure air movement or partial vacuum.
58 Health Estate Journal September 2024
are extremely important also, allowing packages to array to branch lines and/or change directions within the tube network. A diverter switches between sub-routes to guide carriers along the desired path. Once installed, diverters are operated automatically by the control system. Another essential system component is the blower, which is the driving force behind pneumatic tube systems, providing the system with its air supply. ‘Blower’ is used to describe the single diaphragm exhausters that create the vacuum and air pressure within the transport tubes, causing the carriers (usually plastic
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