POORLY MAINTAINED VENTILATION AND AIR CONDITIONING SYSTEMS RISK PATIENTS’ HEALTH
B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association, says that hospitals and other healthcare facilities are putting patients’ health at risk from airborne infections transmitted via poorly maintained ventilation and air conditioning systems.
7 February 2014 – B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association, says that hospitals and other healthcare facilities are putting patients’ health at risk of airborne infections transmitted via poorly maintained ventilation and air conditioning systems.
Roderick Pettigrew, Chief Executive of B&ES, comments, “A large body of research has established a clear link between poorly maintained ventilation ductwork and the spread of airborne infections. Vulnerable patients, whose immunity is already reduced, are being put at particular risk by overlooking ventilation systems when planning preventative maintenance regimes.
B&ES says that vigilance against the threat of cross-contamination is even more urgent these days as existing buildings are being made more airtight by building owners trying to reduce their energy costs by improving insulation, and new buildings have to comply with the much tighter energy and building efficiency requirements of Part L of the Building Regulations. Rising temperatures and increased relative humidity are ideal breeding grounds for bacterial spores that can be distributed around wards and other occupied areas through the ventilation and air conditioning systems; bacterial spores in ductwork can often cause outbreaks of MRSA and other serious infections in hospitals and clinics.
Mr Pettigrew adds, “Inadequate maintenance regimes and protocols mean air extract and supply grilles, ductwork, air handling units, extract fans and discharge points are becoming more prone to contamination that increases the risk for patients and other building users. However, a combination of good practice, common sense and not avoiding the issue can help building operators prevent even the very worst consequences. The key points are that it is never too late to implement a cleaning regime and that properly cleaned ventilation costs less to run than poorly maintained systems.”
The B&ES Guide to Good Practice (TR/19) ‘Internal Cleanliness of Ventilation Systems’ provides details of how to measure system cleanliness and make systems safe for use.
For more information visit the B&ES website at: http://www.b-es.org.
Ends
Issued on behalf of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) by Next Step Marketing Ltd
Media enquiries to: Heather Lambert. Tel: 44(0)1256 472020;
Fax: 44(0)1256 471010; E-mail: heather@nextstepmarketing.co.uk
Note to Editors
Since its formation in 1904, B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association (formerly the HVCA) has represented the interests of companies engaged in a wide range of building and engineering services disciplines.
B&ES helps its members to build successful businesses by being the leading trade association for integrated building and engineering services and renewable technologies. It is a unifying force that promotes and monitors excellence; provides quality advice, guidance, training and support; generates market-leading thinking; and shapes the commercial environment through active representation.
B&ES members are subject to regular, third-party inspection and assessment of their technical competence and commercial capability, carried out by an independent certification body at least every three years.
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