What options for cleaning showers are available to NHS Estates and FMs?
In 2010, it was widely broadcasted through an estates alert by the Department of Health, that flexible water supply hoses may have an enhanced risk of harbouring harmful microorganisms. Evidence pointed towards problems with the materials used to manufacture the products such as EPDM (Ethylene Propylene Diene Monomer rubber). In many cases, healthcare providers resorted to replacing under sink flexi hoses with fixed plumbing. To date, flexi hoses installed on showers have not come under the same scrutiny. This may be because they can be 'designed out' and were believed to be subjected to an effective and regular cleaning regime.
One of the ways the market has responded to this problem, is the use of disposable antimicrobial shower heads and hoses, but this is an over-engineered, expensive and wasteful solution. During W.E.T's research, it was also observed that in some cases, the actually hose being supplied under these contracts was not actually impregnated with the silver ions.
An alternative solution being adopted by NHS Trusts and FMs alike is an innovative service offered by W.E.T, developed and launched following a successful pilot in 2017. The Hygiene 20 Shower Management system overcomes the challenges of the existing procedures and has been evidenced to achieve superior performance of cleaning having undertaken trials with microbiologist Professor Hilton.
W.E.T's new production facility can manage the cleaning of 10,000s showers; more economically and effectively than any known process available today, proven to kill 99.9% of bacteria. The Hygiene 20 Shower Management solution is an innovative 6-stage process available for NHS Estates to outsource the cleaning of their showers via a 'collection, clean and return' process. The showers are collected from sites, inspected, bar coded for audit purposes and sent through the 6 stage Shower Management process from decontamination to final pasteurisation and returned to site. At just £4 per shower, this is proving to be a very effective solution for estate teams and facility managers.
