WASHROOM SOLUTIONS


Imaginative thinking to ‘futureproof’ buildings


The hospitals and healthcare facilities currently being constructed are not just the buildings of today, but will need to meet clinical needs well into the future. With healthcare funding under constant scrutiny, budgets have to work harder than ever to provide solutions not only to the problems that we are encountering now, but equally those we could face in the next 20 to 30 years. With a particular focus on washroom technology – ‘from handwashing to basin design’, Ideal Standard’s Senior Sector marketing manager, Tony Rheinberg, explores the theme, ‘How can we anticipate the issues of the future, and design for them?’


Healthcare professionals across the UK are facing a significant number of long and short-term challenges in 2019. From the rise of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, to continuing tight budget constraints, coupled with the need to deliver Sustainability and Transformation Partnerships (STPs), healthcare teams in both the public and private sectors are under enormous pressure to become more efficient, and to plan ahead. Alongside addressing the challenge of maintaining care settings that are both therapeutic and fit-for-purpose for patients, and providing a comfortable, conducive, staff working environment with limited capital funds, those responsible for the design and upkeep of hospitals are continually looking for new ways to improve patient safety, but also, where possible, to reduce costs. At Armitage Shanks we recognise that manufacturers can play a key role in these efforts – by bringing together duty-holders involved at all stages of the lifecycle of a healthcare building. By sharing our knowledge in good product design, and listening to the changing demands and needs of the sector, we can help create spaces which both boost wellbeing, and help to allay financial pressures.


Identifying opportunities for improvement


In the healthcare sector, things are continually changing – with new technologies being developed, the impact of demographics, and varying levels of regional funding over time. Against this backdrop, it is essential that healthcare facilities are sufficiently flexible in terms of changing use of space, general layout, and patient volume. Although boosting patient safety is a priority for all teams within a working hospital, the specific objectives of, for example, facilities managers, water safety professionals, buyers, and healthcare staff, will all likely differ. With so many individuals with competing priorities, there is a risk of


considerations which need to be taken into account. For example, have the basins been positioned in a way that could cause stray droplets to land on a nearby instrument trolley, or an operating table? Is this particular basin suited to the environment, or designed to minimise splashing? Has it been specified purely on the basis of a historical contract, or unintentionally left behind following the installation location’s previous use? All of these factors must be examined and discussed to avoid bacterial contamination.


Collaboration is key


Markwik 21+ mixers can be fully dismantled for disinfection, with internal components designed to withstand 80˚C (the maximum inlet supply temperature during use is 65˚C), and detachable outlets 135˚C for autoclaving.


ending up with poorly designed spaces. Without good stakeholder collaboration, there may often be key issues which initially go unnoticed, but inevitably rear their head due to an inadvertent ‘silo mentality’. The placement of handwashing basins, for example, is one area which can significantly affect patient safety. At Armitage Shanks, we have identified splashing from basins as a key concern, since the dispersion of unwanted droplets from a basin can significantly accelerate the spread of bacteria, and increase the risk of infection throughout a healthcare estate if not properly managed.


Risks in sterile environments The potential splashing issue is particularly worrying when it comes to the clinical basins which are used in sterile environments like operating theatres, where it is absolutely vital to minimise the presence of unwelcome bacteria. In these applications, there are a number of


Those responsible for supplying a wide range of products into healthcare environments need to be fully aware of the facilities’ current and anticipated future needs. In recent years the legal and technical requirements for in-premise water hygiene have been strengthened. At the same time, new findings have been published on the growth and proliferation of waterborne infections and multi-drug resistant microorganisms, and their survival and paths of transmission. Building owners and managers – including, of course, estates managers responsible for the safe and efficient running of hospitals and other healthcare facilities – must ensure that they are compliant with these legal and technical requirements. That is why – at Armitage Shanks – we host a series of workshops and masterclasses to help healthcare professionals stay ahead of these issues. The Department of Health’s Health Building Note 00-01, General design guidance for healthcare buildings, actually advises that future-planning workshops be employed by healthcare teams to better understand the possible future needs of different spaces. The guidance suggests that working groups should liaise with various stakeholders to anticipate potential changes over a 5, 10, and 20-year period, which they may need to respond to.


August 2019 Health Estate Journal 65


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