BUILDING REGULATIONS
Hospital theatres benefit from Click Scolmore medical solutions
Scolmore Group illustrates best practice in supply of electrical equipment in the healthcare sector with reference to the specification and installation of its wiring accessories in the newly refurbished operating theatres at Conquest Hospital in Sussex
T
he electrical industry has to be on top of requirements for the healthcare sector in order to maintain the highest standards in infection control. Anyone operating within the sector is required to work
with products that meet stringent demands for hygiene and safety.
Switch plates, such as light switches, dimmers and sockets have one of the highest touch rates in any environment, so are likely to hold a significant number of microbes on their surfaces. Whilst regular and rigorous cleaning of these settings is essential, the use of products with antimicrobial properties will also have a part to play to help inhibit the spread of infection.
Health Technical Memorandum
When it comes to specification requirements within the healthcare sector, most are taken from Health Technical Memorandum (HTM’s). These give comprehensive advice and guidance on the design, installation and operation of specialised building and engineering technology used in the delivery of healthcare. The focus of Health Technical Memorandum guidance remains on healthcare-specific elements of standards, policies and up-to-date established best practice. They are applicable to new and existing sites and are for use at various stages during the whole building lifecycle. Healthcare-specific technical engineering guidance is a vital tool in the safe and efficient operation of healthcare facilities. Health Technical Memorandum guidance is the main source of specific healthcare-related guidance for estates and facilities professionals. For contractors and installers working within a healthcare setting, they will seek the reassurance from manufacturers that the products they are specifying and installing meet the required standards and that they are able to supply the test certificates to prove it.
Electrical solutions for medical environments
IHEEM Affiliate Member, Scolmore Group, is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of electrical accessories, lighting, home automation, security and cable accessory products. Its comprehensive Medical Solutions brochure showcases the growing range of products that specifiers and contractors working in the sector can access.
Electrical installation solutions for hospital operating theatres
The total refurbishment of two UCV (Ultra Clean Ventilation) operating theatres at Conquest Hospital in St Leonards on Sea, East Sussex, was completed last year, with wiring accessories from Click Scolmore’s growing medical solutions range specified and installed. Preventing airborne infections during a surgical
procedure is of paramount importance for effective and economical delivery of care, as well as for health and well-being of patients. Ultra Clean Ventilation (UCV) systems, such as the ones featured in the Conquest Hospital theatres, are commonly used in operating theatres, in particular for orthopaedic surgery because of the higher risk of infection from exposed deep wounds. Products from Click Scolmore’s Mode range of white moulded, antimicrobial wiring accessories, and the accompanying GridPro plates and modules range were chosen to provide the solution for this sensitive install project. A number of double, unswitched Mode blue medical sockets, red outboard rocker sockets and white outboard rocket sockets have been installed in the walls around the theatre to
14 BUILDING SERVICES & ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER JANUARY 2025
accommodate the numerous devices and appliances that need to be powered. In line with the requirements, the blue medical sockets feature laser-etched white lettering stating, ‘Medical Equipment Only’. Blue ‘Medical Equipment Only’ Sockets are designed to distinguish them from non-IPS electrical sockets. This helps ensure medical equipment is plugged into IPS sockets and non-medical equipment is plugged into non-IPS sockets.
Mode antimicrobial switches and sockets
The wiring accessories specified for this project are part of Click Scolmore’s antimicrobial wiring accessories. The range comprises Mode, Mode Part M and Polar products and they are all manufactured using Urea Formaldehyde, which has similar inherent properties to antimicrobial additives that inhibit the growth of infectious diseases. They have all been independently tested for their anti-microbial properties. The results from the laboratory showed that the products tested achieved a bacterium kill rate of 99.99% when tested 24 hours after they had been exposed to MRSA, E-Coli, Salmonella and Klebsiella Pneumoniae. These independent tests show that Scolmore’s products achieved a 99.99% kill off rate across all four types of the strains of bacteria causing concern in health environments. Double supplementary equipotential bonding earth connection points were also installed. These products have recently been added to the Click Medical Solutions wiring accessories range, along with EBBs (Equipotential Bonding Busbars). The EBB is a key component of the supplementary protective equipotential bonding system which is designed to substantially reduce touch voltages between exposed and extraneous conductive parts located within or that may be moved into the patient environment of Group 1 and 2 medical locations. EBBs are installed within or immediately outside the medical locations they serve.
EBBs – ensuring patient safety
EBBs play a major role in ensuring patient and clinician safety. In accordance with the Requirements for Electrical Installations BS 7671:2018 AMD2 Section 710 (Medical Locations) and the Health Technical Memorandum HTM06 01:2017, all Group 1 and 2
Medical Locations are to have an Equipotential Bonding Busbar (EBB) and associated supplementary protective equipotential bonding installed. An informative guide to a medical locations
group classification is provided within BS 7671 on page 287 (Annexe A710). The particular requirements of BS 7671:2018 AMD2 Section 710 apply to patient healthcare facilities, such as, hospitals, private clinics, medical and dental practices, healthcare centres and dedicated medical rooms in the workplace to provide for the safety of patients and medical staff. Where applicable the requirements can also be used in veterinary clinics. The product development team at Scolmore identified the need for an EBB that offered a simple design, with an easy to terminate layout and featured the right number of terminations for their applications within different medical locations. The result is an 18 connection Type 1 EBB and 40 connection Type 2 EBB. In keeping with Amendment 2 of the 18th edition (BS 7671:2018+A2:2022) requirement for infection control, the EEBs are supplied with a smooth, flat, one-piece lid with semi recessed cover screws and rounded corners that provides an easy to clean surface.
Quality assured
Contractors need to take a diligent approach when specifying electrical accessories in a healthcare setting. Scolmore Group is committed to adhering to the highest standards of quality and safety of the products it supplies to the professional electrical market. The standard used to qualify Scolmore’s products is ISO 22196. The standard ISO 22916 test method is designed to test the ability of plastics and other similar materials to kill or prevent the growth of microorganisms, over a 24 hour period of contact.
ISO 22196 is one of the most commonly
requested antimicrobial surface test methods for evaluating the antimicrobial activity of antibacterial treated plastic products. Contractors will have the additional
reassurance that all Scolmore BS1363 products – in particular socket outlets – are third party approved and bear the BSI Kitemark logo. With such a vast range of antimicrobial electrical accessories to call on from one supplier, contractors are guaranteed the consistency of quality and compliance across the whole range of products they specify.
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