STUART SKINNER – MARKETING MANAGER, RADA, UK WATER
Digital water delivery for safer, greener care
Stuart Skinner, marketing manager at water controls manufacturer Rada, examines how prioritising digital water delivery solutions can have a profound impact on achieving sustainability and infection control in the healthcare sector.
Water is a vital resource for healthcare. It is at the heart of effective infection control, central to the overall cleanliness of a healthcare space and preventing cross-contamination. However, with the frequency of waterborne diseases rising annually, the risks of water delivery in healthcare settings are significant. We also cannot forget that healthcare organisations have a large environmental footprint; they are amongst the largest consumers of water and contributors to greenhouse gas emissions globally. There has been recent welcome drive
to digitise estates and harness smarter ways of delivering greener, safer care, but there are opportunities to go further in adopting innovations which address global challenges, while transforming patient care. This is particularly relevant for water delivery in healthcare environments, which when done right can enhance infection prevention, reduce water consumption, and save staff time and resources.
Key water delivery issues in healthcare
Mismanagement of water can lead to the build-up of harmful bacteria that can cause water-related healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), such as Legionella and Pseudomonas.1
HCAIs represent a global
challenge and claims tens of thousands of lives every year, affecting between 5-10 per cent of patients in Europe and 1 out of every 25 hospitalised patients in
Accuracy and control help optimise efficiency.
the United States.2,3 The costs of HCAIs
are significant – in the UK for example, fighting HCAIs increases England’s National Health Service (NHS) costs by £2. 1bn every year.3
Patients in hospital
settings are especially vulnerable to these infections due to their age, existing co- morbidities and presence of invasive devices, and mortality rates for immunocompromised patients with Legionnaires disease can be as high as 80 per cent.4 Infection control procedures and policies are incredibly important for reducing these avoidable deaths, but the current manual approach towards infection prevention is time and resource intensive. COVID-19 has placed ever
Stuart Skinner Stuart Skinner is the marketing manager at water controls
manufacturer Rada, with over 30 years’ experience working in the water controls industry for Kohler Mira. Having previously lead sister company Mira Showers National Sales Team, his experience gained working across brands, markets, and
channels provides him with a unique insight into the industry. He is focused on helping healthcare professionals realise their aims of improving infection control and optimising the operation
and safety of their water systems. He is also leading Rada’s work in unlocking new benefits for healthcare professionals through a new generation of digital and connected water controls.
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greater demands on staff and facilities, meaning healthcare professionals need every tool available to them and resources spent on the consequences of HCAIs are much better focussed on preventing. It is undeniable that the use of water in healthcare settings is essential for delivering safe and effective care, but the growing world population – which is expected to reach 9.9 billion by 20505
–
is placing an increasing demand on water supplies. In the UK, the NHS is one of the country’s largest consumers of water, using approximately 50 billion cubic litres a year, at an annual cost of £60 m.6 Increasing drought and extreme weather due to the climate crisis puts the system under even greater strain – 2022 was a year of increasingly concerning climate events and stark warnings about the impact that our lifestyles and consumption are having on the planet, with studies showing that two thirds of the global population faced water shortages.7
In the UK, July saw temperature
records broken multiple times while rainfall was down 76 per cent.8
The UK’s
Environment Agency declared droughts across large parts of the country, causing many water companies to put drought plans into operation.9
The National
Infrastructure Commission has warned that without further action, there is roughly a 1 in 4 chance over the next 30 years that large number of households in the UK will have their water supply cut off for an extended period because of water shortages.10
It is clear that we are rapidly
reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably delivered globally – and demand must be managed.
Future trends The rapid spread of COVID-19 led to a renewed global focus on the vital role infection prevention plays within hospitals and estates. The speed of adoption of new technology during the pandemic – such as virtual wards, artificial intelligence and new diagnostic methods – has led to a revived focus across the healthcare
IFHE DIGEST 2023
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