An increased emphasis on the protection against healthcare associated infections (HCAIs) means that specifiers and facility managers for healthcare buildings are searching for the most advantageous products, those that assist with not only the protection against such bacteria but also prevent its spread. Phil Barsby, Business Development Manager at Intastop Ltd a leading manufacture of products designed to protect doors, people and places, explains how key areas can be easily protected and why NHS Trusts and healthcare providers have chosen products that offer long lasting advantages.
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Areas in constant contact with visitors, patients and medical professionals can harbour harmful bacteria such as walls and doors which can sometimes be overlooked for more obvious sites such as taps and handrails. However, it is proven that by using antibacterial door and wall protection it can prevent the growth of up to 99% of harmful microbes and bacteria in those areas.
Northern Care Alliance
A leading NHS Healthcare Trust has taken steps to revolutionise its maintenance programme in certain key areas with the installation Anti-bacterial Impact Protection Sheet from Intastop.
The Northern Care Alliance NHS Group, which serves the Bury and Rochdale area, selected the products for its Fairfield General Hospital theatre doors which had been damaged through general wear and tear since the opening of the hospital.
“We have used products by Intastop for several years throughout our Fairfield site for wall and door protection behind our bed heads and on doors,” said Steven Johnson, Building Estates Officer, Northern Care Alliance NHS Group. “On this latest occasion, we chose the door protection sheets to upgrade our theatre doors which had been damaged and were in need of refurbishing.
“Our preference was to choose the anti-bacterial textured sheet as it offered added benefits in our setting over the 
smooth version hiding any scuff marks that occur from trollies. And, whilst there is a fantastic colour range to choose from we selected grey once again so that the colour scheme flowed throughout the hospital and allowed us to have spare sheet that could be used in any setting for ongoing repairs and maintenance.”
Other hospital trusts have similar concerns such as the team at Rotherham District General where it was not protecting its doors and walls from damage and from harbouring harmful bacteria that was the only issue but, it was to maximise its budget too.
“When there is a need to refurbish a hospital ward there are many elements which are essential components of the refit and many factors to take into consideration,” said Tony Keenan senior team leader in the Estates Department at the hospital. “Each department or ward will use different equipment which are at differing heights, therefore it was essential for us to choose a product that was able to work with our varying requirements.”
Impact protection sheet was used in a variety of places throughout the ward where traffic and equipment storage and usage were high. “If everything looks nice you feel nice,” concluded Tony. “But it’s not only appearance, quality protection for walls and doors also reduces maintenance costs and helps with infection control.”
Impact Protection Sheet
Suitable for doors and walls alike antibacterial impact protection sheet provides the perfect solution not only for unsightly or damaged walls and doors but also assists infection control, combating the spread of harmful bacteria such as C-difficile, MRSA, Salmonella, Listeria and E.coli. Impact protection sheet that includes Hygienilacâ works
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by an added biocidally proactive ingredient, which prevents bacteria and other microbes accessing nutrients and therefore disabling their growth. The added ingredient permeates the entire 2mm sheet so that if the surface is scratched it continues to provide protection.
It has low water solubility and is completely UV stable which ensures its effectiveness for many years, it has passed tests for severe usage and its proactive ingredient has gained approvals from renowned bodies such the Environmental Protection Agency, Health and Safety Executive and the Food and Drug Administration.
In addition, to adhere to fire legislation, healthcare facilities should choose sheet that is class ‘O’ fire rated and tested to BS476 parts 6 and 7.
Door Protection
As with walls, doors are another key area where harmful bacteria can harbour. They are also high traffic zones which not only come into contact with building users and equipment but also suffer from high levels of ware and tear which can also be detrimental to a facility’s fire protection policy. Impact protection sheet can provide reinforcement for doors, their edges and frame therefore offering a long lasting low maintenance solution that also helps prevent HCAIs.
Croydon University Hospital has more than 500 beds serving a local community of 360,000 people and covering a wide range of acute services. The existing hospital site is more than 50 years old and therefore has a wide range of different products installed including doors and door types.
The estates department were tasked with improving the aesthetics of the ageing estate placing particular emphasis on upgrading the fire doors, to ensure they continued to keep their fire integrity.
With having over 3,300 doors the team opted for a retro-fit post forming solution with impact protection sheet and edge guards which saved a staggering £3.3m over new post-formed doors. The project restored complete fire integrity to each door, gave long term protection against damage and harmful bacteria.
Mazin Doaoud, the Trust’s Fire Officer said: “Some doors were that badly damaged they no longer retained their fire integrity, using impact protection sheet that had been fire tested to BS476 Parts 22 meant we could upgrade and re-instate that integrity by retrofitting, whilst significantly enhancing the aesthetics too.”
Ongoing Advantages
Intastop, established for over 25 years, has gained a reputation for being a leading innovator in the areas of door, wall and people protection for the healthcare and anti-ligature markets. Its understanding of healthcare establishments has shown that protected doors and walls from the outset not only protect against HCAIs but also save considerably on on-going maintenance bills and time spent upgrading facilities for aesthetic reasons.
For further information visit Intastop’s website www.intastop.com which combines commentary on the best product for a range of applications and BIM objects
