Maceration for the modern sluice room

An effective and well-planned modern sluice or dirty utility room which enables clean and effective human waste disposal and disinfection is absolutely key to ensuring excellent hygiene and infection control standards in hospitals and other healthcare facilities. Adam Roach, Engineering director at DDC Dolphin, discusses the company’s approach to minimising infection risk from human waste in clinical and patient settings via the ongoing development of a range of advanced, easy-to-use, and highly effective single-use pulp macerators.

The careful and safe disposal of human waste and associated decontamination of reusable items such as bedpans and urine bottles – to minimise the risk of cross-infection from body fluids – is one of the most important operations for maintenance of both patient and healthcare worker wellbeing. By disposing of all human waste in a single area, infection can easily be contained and isolated before it can spread. 

Minimising the risk of HCAIs such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Clostridium difficile, norovirus, Extended-spectrum betalactamase (ESBL), and Legionella, will directly reduce costs, due to significant decreases in nursing time and the use of antibiotics, as well as through the avoidance of a total ward shutdown when an infection cycle needs to be broken. Within a sluice/dirty utility room, effective decontamination is key to delivering good hygiene, and thus sound infection control.