MOBILE HEALTH FACILITIES STEVEN PEAK – DIRECTOR OF DELIVERY AND DEVELOPMENT, VANGUARD
A mobile solution to offering care continuity
Fire can be a devastating event for a healthcare building. Hospitals are particularly susceptible to wide ranging smoke damage when a fire occurs due to the nature of their ventilation systems, which are often more extensive than in other commercial buildings; the smoke can therefore access a much broader area. Renovations to the structural aspects and the ventilation ducts were deemed necessary to ensure a safe and compliant environment for both staff and patients following a fire at the Centre Hopital Universitaire Point-a-Pitre (CHU) in Guadeloupe.
When the Centre Hopital Universitaire Point-a-Pitre (CHU) in Guadeloupe experienced a catastrophic fire on 21 November 2017, the surrounding patient community was left with no access to surgical services or to a functioning emergency and trauma department. Guadeloupe, which is a French
overseas territory, is home to about 450,000 people. The 881-bed hospital is one of the major acute service providers in the region; it carries out about 60 per cent of care activity in the archipelago and is one of the few hospitals in the region that can provide life critical procedures such as kidney transplants. The capacity of the hospital was significantly impacted by the fire, which directly affected 11 operating rooms as well as an endoscopy suite. Experts estimate that the floors in some of the operating rooms may have reached a temperature of 1000˚C; the structural strength of unprotected steel begins to weaken at 550˚C. To ensure the safety of all hospital users, extensive renovation of the theatre flooring was required and services were suspended. Hospitals are susceptible to wide
ranging smoke damage when a fire occurs due to the nature of their ventilation systems, which are often more extensive than in other commercial buildings. Once ventilation systems are compromised and shut down, air quality can no longer be maintained and mould, bacteria and viral spores can begin to develop in the air ducts. Ventilation systems must therefore be thoroughly cleaned before use can be safely resumed, which is a lengthy process; all
IFHE DIGEST 2019
The hospital’s operating theatre suite was extensively damaged by fire and smoke.
air systems must be revalidated prior to becoming active.
Equipment, particularly operating room
furniture and digital equipment, can be expensive to replace and cannot always be sourced at short notice to provide immediate care in the aftermath of a fire. In an environment that provides care to patients whose immunity is compromised, whether long term from illness or because they are having surgery and are therefore more vulnerable to infection, all damaged
areas must be cleaned, made sterile and validated through extensive testing before they can be reopened to surgical procedures. This process, particularly when multiple operating rooms are damaged, can be complex and time consuming.
In Guadeloupe, many other hospitals and clinics in the area opened their doors to patients from the CHU. This additional burden on their resources was not sustainable in the longer term and it was
Steven Peak
Steven Peak, director of delivery and development, joined the Vanguard team in October 2013 and became a permanent member of the executive team in April 2015.
Steve has worked within the NHS acute hospital sector for 25 years and his board level experience extends over a 13 year period, during which he has been part of or has led teams delivering major clinical service reconfiguration within a number of acute hospitals. His exposure to internal restructuring projects has given him a
comprehensive insight into how suppliers can assist with supporting the market in further progression. His appointment to the role of director of delivery and development reflects the value of his perspective on a changing healthcare landscape.
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