Construction Specialties boosts patient privacy at Tunbridge Wells Hospital

England’s first NHS hospital to offer all inpatients their own en-suite single rooms has been completed using Construction Specialties’ (C/S) advanced internal wall protection systems.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust in Kent has invested £230
million in the new hospital, covering an internal floor area of 65,000sq
m. C/S’s in-house installation team, Conspec Contracts, fitted a bespoke selection of C/S solutions from the Acrovyn® and Wallglaze® ranges, to meet the project’s high hygienic, safety and sustainability criteria. C/S recently completed phase one and two of the installation having commenced works in March 2008.

Kate Waterston, UK Field Sales Manager at C/S, said: “Patient privacy
and dignity remains high on the political agenda. The Trust’s forward
thinking design to feature en-suite single rooms not only provides patients with the privacy they deserve but also helps the NHS to control
infection.

“Hygienic coatings which contain anti-microbial properties, like the
Wallglaze solutions specified at Tunbridge Wells, provide hospitals with
another tool in their armoury to further reduce the spread of bacteria.”
From its Acrovyn range, C/S installed more than 1800m of Approved
Document M compliant handrails throughout the hospital to aid patient
transport.

Maintaining the appearance of the building, 5000m of crash rails and 250 corner guards were also used to protect the internal walls from damage and daily wear and tear as a consequence of the high volume
of traffic passing through the corridors. Additional products included
cubicle curtain tracks offering additional patient privacy.

From the Wallglaze range, C/S’s Wallflex and Armourglaze hygienic coatings were applied in patient bathrooms, operating theatres, kitchen areas and mortuary/postmortem rooms. The chemical resistant paint is ideal for environments requiring high infection control.

Offering a seamless finish, the smooth surface provided by Wallglaze
makes it difficult for bacteria to inhabit. Owing to its durable nature
against tough, chemical based cleaning products, Wallglaze is ideal for
medical environments.

The new hospital fully opened in September and is run by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust. Serving a population of about 500,000 in West Kent and East Sussex, the hospital provides ‘Centres of Expertise’ in maternity, inpatient paediatrics, trauma and orthopaedics, as well as a full A&E service.

For more information on Acrovyn Wall Protection & Wallglaze Hygienic Coatings please call: 01296 652800, e-mail: info@c-sgroup.co.uk,
visit: www.c-sgroup.co.uk or read our blog: http://info.c-sgroup.co.uk