WATER HYGIENE AND SAFETY
Managing washrooms efficiently and safely
Paul Musgrove, UK Development manager at shower room and washroom specialist, Conti+ UK, discusses some of the many and varied considerations and priorities for estates and facilities teams managing healthcare washroom systems, and outlines some of the recent advances in the field from the company.
Functional safety and ease of maintenance are a prerequisites for the water systems within healthcare facilities – where systems must be kept running smoothly, and free from hazardous levels of pathogenic microorganisms. Given the age and diverse nature of the NHS estate, however, estates and facilities managers are often working with complex building layouts where new-build and ageing properties may well integrate in an unpredictable manner. Against this backdrop, how can they take a holistic approach to safe water management across their extensive sites? To demonstrate compliance with regulations and healthcare-related legislation, and ensure that, for instance, healthcare estates management and healthcare engineering practices are in line with HTM, HSE, and other key guidance, requires accurate record-keeping, monitoring, and auditing. Even in a digital age, this can involve considerable paperwork, increasing bureaucracy for time-poor estates teams. Of course the safe and effective management of a hospital’s water system is not purely focused on reporting and safety, but also on ensuring the clinical supply to numerous clinical and non-clinical departments is maintained uninterrupted, and that – especially against today’s difficult financial backdrop – consumption is monitored to, for example, minimise instances of leakage, and ensure that water is being used judiciously, which also help lower bills.
Many elements
There are thus many elements for those operating and maintaining healthcare water systems to consider. Whether – based on the history of the water system at their site – their overriding focus is on ensuring that waterborne pathogen levels never reach levels of concern, or reducing consumption and the resulting financial outlay, or indeed on both, estate managers seeking to make improvements often start with a complete review of water usage, identifying – both through reporting and user feedback – the key areas for improvements, and opportunities
The Conti + CNX water management system is designed to simplify the systematic management and monitoring of water systems in large healthcare facilities.
to achieve their goals. The Estate Management team at the Hospital of St John and St Elizabeth in London, for example, did exactly this before meeting with Conti+ to share its vision and understand how the company could help the team achieve it. The thorough review led to a structured and considered approach to the safety and monitoring of the hospital’s water management systems.
Keeping patients safe and comfortable
When exploring the detail of efficient water management within a large healthcare estate, one of the key considerations must be the patients, who should be able to use the facilities available with comfort and ease. Careful and considered planning should include the specification and installation of thoughtfully-selected products chosen
with a strong emphasis on usability. Estates managers should be able to count on the advice, experience, and expertise of knowledgeable manufacturers who understand which products offer optimum suitability and value for the application, particularly in that often key product benefits may be ‘hidden’ within a seemingly familiar-looking product. Patients recovering from surgery may appreciate the gentle tap to switch on the Tipolino shower control from Conti+, compared with the twisting motion often required to activate showers. Products can also be preset at optimum temperatures and flow rates to ensure comfort, while managing valuable resources, satisfying both users and estates managers simultaneously.
The case for sensor products in healthcare
‘Perfect for less able patients’ – a gentle tap operates the Tipolino shower control.
Busy washrooms utilised by many visitors, for example near waiting areas, can be kept hygienically clean with the use of touch-free urinal and tap controls, with the potential to reduce to the frequency with which such facilities need to be visited by cleaning teams. Intelligent sensors detect user proximity, and automatically and reliably control the flow of water from the tap. Because no physical contact is required, there is a
October 2019 Health Estate Journal 71
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