As part of a major £800,000 upgrade, patient showering areas and bathrooms in the west wing of Worthing Hospital in Sussex are being refurbished and extended with 26 Rada Sense digitally controlled showers installed. The 1960's built west wing houses 14 wards including the cardiac care and renal units.
Operated by Worthing and Southlands NHS Trust, the programme to upgrade the ward bathrooms will also see the construction of a number of new bathroom facilities which will feature Rada Sense when completed. The bathrooms feature wheelchair accessible showers where the hands-free Rada Sense showers enable full operation and functionailty even from the sitting position.
This Rada Sense digitally controlled shower is one of 26 installed in new and upgraded patient showering areas and bathrooms in the west wing of Worthing Hospital. The bathrooms feature wheelchair accessible showers where the hands-free Rada Sense showers enable full operation and functionality even from the sitting position.
As Peter Prentice, Chief Engineer at the hospital explains, as well as producing an aesthetically pleasing look to the washrooms, the Rada Sense showers offer the Trust considerable benefits in safety and reduced maintenance.
"We were very mindful of the positive infection control features within the Rada Sense as well as patient safety. Naturally, infection control is a major priority and with its inbuilt thermal disinfection function we have been impressed with the ease with which our personnel can quickly and rapidly perform the task.
"In addition patients have very rapidly taken to the hands-free flow and temperature controller which again offers benefits in reducing the opportunities for infection transfer," he adds.
Entirely UK designed and fully TMV3 compliant, Rada Sense offers a unique combination of safety, hygiene and precise temperature control. When activated from a hand held pda computer, the thermal disinfection cycle flushes water at 60°C through the system in a safe environment to ensure that risks of infection and contamination from water borne bacteria are minimised.
There is also an automatic duty flush function, the frequency of which can be increased or reduced to suit individual site requirements.
These features are particularly relevant in hospital environments where, in order to maintain best practice in the water supply system, regular flushing of the taps and showers to deter potential legionella and bacteria problems developing within the hot water system dead legs must be undertaken.
With Rada Sense the user can alter the water temperature as well as the timed flow. In order to prevent scalding, in Worthing Hospital the maximum water temperature is set just below the legal delivery limit of 43°C.
Via the Rada Sense control panel, water flow and water temperature can be controlled.
"We have found the Rada Sense installation be be very user friendly from the patient viewpoint with the maintenance and safety features a definite bonus for the facilities management team," explains Peter Prentice.
"From our experience to date we would definitely hope to install further Rada Sense units as part of futuure upgrading or refurbishing projects."
To contact Kohler Mira call (01242) 282527 or fax (01242) 282404. e-mail: Rada_Technical@mirashowers.com
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