INFECTION CONTROL
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HOW HYGIENIC WATER NETWORKS KEEP PATIENTS SAFE Facilities designed to be visited or occupied by people who are extra sensitive to the effects of bacteria and contamination need to pay careful attention to several design and maintenance factors to provide a safe environment with optimised hygiene levels. UPONOR
n all buildings such as hospitals, care homes and healthcare facilities, it’s important that this focus extends beyond the most visible parts of the site – like the wards, surgeries and waiting rooms – and is equally concentrated on the more obscure sections of the building. This level of hygiene awareness is required as these harder-to-reach, lessfrequently-seen areas can be prime places for bacteria and contaminants to accumulate out of sight. This need for hygiene control is especially true of the water system, which needs to supply clean and safe water consistently. For healthcare facilities, this can be tricky. Most have extensive water systems which are likely to include not only a large number of hand-washing stations but also aerosolproducing devices – including cooling towers, dehumidifiers and shower outlets as well as equipment unique to the sector, such as respiratory therapy equipment.
Legionella and the spread of bacteria An unhygienic water network can lead to a long list of issues for a healthcare facility, and the proliferation of legionella is potentially the most dangerous. This FC&A – JANUARY – 2021
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