Four new UCV operating theatre suites at North London’s St John and St Elizabeth Hospital – one of the country’s largest independent charity hospitals – feature Medical Air Technology’s ‘energy-efficient’ ECO-flow ultraclean ventilation (UCV) systems.
‘Inspired by its deeply cherished Catholic ethos’, the private hospital, founded in 1865, offers an extensive range of specialist outpatient clinics and more than 60 private rooms. Its charity status comes from it also funding St John’s Hospice, on the same site, which provides free inpatient, day care, and community care, to people living within its wide catchment area
In 2018, work began on a new three-floor, £35 m wing for the main hospital – the largest investment there to date. Facilities within the new wing include six operating theatres, an endoscopy unit, a day-case department with en-suite facilities, upgraded Urgent Care and Critical Care units, a dedicated staff and consultant training area, and a ‘patient-focused’ admissions lounge.
MAT’s ECO-flow UCV systems were specified for four of the six new theatres, being favoured both by the hospital’s Estates and Clinical teams. UCV enables hospitals to offer a wider range of surgeries, including orthopaedics, and, MAT says, ‘plays an important role in the integrated delivery of theatre services’.
The ECO-flow canopy creates a ‘clean zone’ around the surgical table and clinical team, using controlled airflow to filter out particles from the supplied air, dilute contaminated air, and prevent entry of contaminated air from outside the theatre. MAT said: “This results in a much better outcome for the patient, dramatically reducing the risk of surgical site infection. The use of a UCV or laminar flow strategy for orthopaedic surgery is specified in HTM 03-01; Specialised ventilation for healthcare buildings.”
The' ring-within-a-ring’ design of the Merivaara Q-Flow LED operating lights fitted by Bender UK in each theatres at St John and St Elizabeth Hospital ensures that the specialist airflow provided by the ECO-flow canopy is not interrupted, and infection prevention compromised.
MAT designs, manufactures, and installs bespoke critical ventilation systems and turnkey project solutions for new-build and refurbishment projects. It has extensive experience of working in ‘live’ environments.
