Given the ongoing need for healthcare providers to balance form with function when it comes to interior furnishings, surfaces are one such area where estate stakeholders can make efficiency gains, while also ensuring cleanability, antimicrobial protection, and durability in line with rigorous standards. George Emms, specification sales leader at Polyrey, part of Wilsonart UK, explains the considerations when specifying surfaces for the modern healthcare estate

 

The primary function of the healthcare estate is to improve patient outcomes.

And all design, wherever possible, should be geared towards this aim – providing care and comfort in an environment that is effective, safe, and operationally efficient.

Each aspect of a modern built environment contributes towards this, whether directly or indirectly.

Indeed, beyond the clinical aspect, it is important for patients and providers alike to be in a comfortable and convenient setting if the best outcomes are to be achieved.

Form and function

Engineered surfaces such as melamine-faced chipboard (MFC), high-pressure laminate (HPL), and compact laminate, are key to this.

Beyond intangibles such as developing trust and comfort through high-quality aesthetics in public spaces, a hospital’s décor must match form with function.

This includes acting as a safeguard against the risk of infectious agents and healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs).

This conclusion is neither new nor novel for specifiers working on healthcare projects.

Yet there are important nuances and details to be discerned when discussing surface hygiene and specification in the hospital environment.

Going beyond the expected

From the waiting room to the operating theatre, all surface coverings used in healthcare must meet rigorous standards around cleanability and durability.

Hospitals are demanding places with unique stresses and strains that every aspect of the modern built environment must consider beyond the clinical aspects of patient visits.

It is with this in mind that the area of microbial protection must be explored.

Currently, all surfaces must be selected with hygiene management and the prevention of bacterial proliferation in mind. This includes ensuring any specified products are hard-wearing without requiring additional protective coatings such as varnish or paint and that they are easy to maintain.

Given the requisite emphasis on cleanliness in hospitals, prioritising surfaces resistant to a large variety of sanitation procedures is vital.

For example, they must be able to withstand intensive cleaning procedures such as bio cleaning or disinfection with hydrogen peroxide, while also being resistant to a large variety of cleaning products.

However, this should be considered as standard.

Considering the renewed focus on cleanliness following the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be argued that healthcare estate specifiers should look to exceed current expectations, especially where hygiene is concerned.

Hygienic vs Antibacterial

From here, an important distinction must be made between coverings that are classed as ‘hygienic’ and those designated ‘antibacterial’.

Specifically, while the former passively limits bacterial proliferation; the latter actively assists toward this aim.

Importantly for specifiers, while all laminate surfaces will generally be considered hygienic, not every type of surface can be classed as antibacterial.

Whether used in a decorative or technical context, antibacterial laminate panels are designed to destroy 99.9% of bacteria within 24 hours.

This is made possible due to enhanced silver ion protection being integrated into the material during the resin impregnation stage of the manufacturing process.

Consequently, this benefit is enmeshed within the product, meaning its effect will not deteriorate over time due to expected wear and tear within the hospital environment.

When complemented with the rigorous cleaning practices expected in healthcare estates, antibacterial panels can provide an important marginal gain toward infection control and patient safety that more basic laminate panels cannot.

Rigorous testing

These solutions are currently only offered by Polyrey due to its work with SANITIZED AG, a leading producer of antimicrobial hygiene function and material protection for textiles and polymers.

To ensure the continued effectiveness of their antimicrobial protection technology, SANITIZED AG’s performance certificate is renewed every year following rigorous laboratory testing, further ensuring peace-of-mind for hospital stakeholders.

This innovation has been integrated into Polyrey’s in-house processes to ensure antibacterial grade products including MFC, HPL and compact laminate are included as standard without additional costs or manufacturing delays.

And it is certified as food safe, skin safe, and when combined with the properties of water-repellent laminate materials, prevents moulds and bacteria from proliferating.

Additionally, the silver ions used within the material are not soluble, non-migratory, non-allergen, and do not lead to respiratory effects, so are not dangerous for patients or the healthcare environment.

As a result, surface cleanliness can be enhanced and HCAI risks mitigated.

Standardisation and guidance

It is important to note that though antibacterial materials are currently widely used across the healthcare sector, there remains no identifiable standard across Europe governing the time in which bacteria is killed off.

And this lack of a centralised knowledge resource may lead to information gaps when specifying in the hospital setting.

As a result, the sector must continue to adapt its working practices to avoid such pitfalls.

The supply chain has a key role to play in this, and it is advised that project stakeholders leverage their expertise – and that of their suppliers – in all aspects of the build, from the clinical to the environmental.

With patient protection paramount to hospital design, antibacterial surfaces are absolutely a part of this.

The guidance of manufacturers may therefore be instrumental in ensuring bacterial proliferation does not occur in all areas of the healthcare estate.

For healthcare architects or specifiers keen to explore the selection process more formally, the company offers a suite of RIBA-accredited CPDs.

This includes Everything You Wanted to Know about Decorative Panels and Engineered Surfaces, Waterproof Laminate Panelling Systems: A Viable Alternative to Tile, and The Changing Face of Performance Wall Surfaces as an Alternative to Tiles.