Medical Air Technology (MAT) has performed an assortment of upgrades on an operating theatre at Fairfield Independent Hospital. The independent charitable hospital in Merseyside, UK, is investing in medical equipment in line with its development plan, evidenced by the recent decision to bring in the specialist contractor.
MAT has upgraded Theatre 2 to ultraclean with the installation of an ECO-flow ultraclean ventilation (UCV) system.
Fairfield Independent Hospital contracted MAT after a formal tender process and the board approved its business case. The hospital stated that the company demonstrated a clear understanding of the requirements and project drivers, giving cost certainty and evidence of flexibility of installation to meet surgical demands.
In addition to the theatre refit, MAT carried out hydrogen peroxide disinfection of both theatre suites and the surrounding department. The installation took 18 working days.
This is not the first time MAT has worked at Fairfield Independent Hospital. In 2017-2018, MAT carried out modification of the existing sterile pack store to separate it into two prep rooms, one serving each theatre. As part of this, MAT installed one of its lay-up cabinets, initially loaned to the hospital for trialling. The hospital went on to purchase it and also bought a second unit for the other prep room.
Andrew Jones, Director of Hospital Services at Fairfield Independent Hospital, said: “We are very happy with the work carried out by MAT. Throughout the project, we appreciated the benefits of working with a company with such a thorough understanding of surgical site infection and a portfolio of products designed to address it.”
Jones added: “The new prep rooms and theatre give our clinical teams the best environment for delivering the outstanding, safe care patients have come to expect from Fairfield Independent Hospital.”
The MAT ECO-flow UCV Operating Theatre
This turnkey project started with the strip-out of the existing theatre, before work began to install the new energy-efficient ECO-flow 2.8 UCV system, complete with new extract air handling unit, ventilation system, electrics, pressure stabilisers, thermal insulation, medical gases and BMS controls. The refit also included a touchscreen theatre panel, IPS/UPS and operating lights, provided by Brandon Medical, completing the upgrade of this fully HBN- and HTM-compliant theatre.
Hydrogen Peroxide Disinfection
It can be very difficult to ensure the specialist equipment and various surface areas in this key hospital area are disinfected effectively. However, the delivery system for the patented hydrogen peroxide and silver solution used in this disinfection process reaches areas where traditional cleaning methods cannot and is extremely successful at eliminating dangerous bacteria and viruses. At Fairfield Independent Hospital, MAT sprayed everything in the two theatre suites, recovery and adjoining areas, including medical equipment left in situ. The area was then fogged to ensure thorough disinfection.
The MAT Lay-Up Cabinet
The MAT lay-up cabinet was the perfect solution when Fairfield Independent Hospital wanted to turn an existing sterile pack store into two theatre prep rooms. Requiring minimal building infrastructure and installation work, the lay-up cabinet improves infection control around surgical instrument reparation and turns a sterile pack store into an area suitable for laying-up instruments, delivering an ultraclean airflow regime over instrument trays. It can also increase theatre throughput as it eliminates the need to waste valuable theatre time by laying-up under the UCV canopy.
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