Case study
Barn theatre at Airedale General Hospital
Howorth supply EXFLOW UCV systems and a package of specialist theatre equipment for 2-bed barn theatre.
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Challenge
The Barn Theatre is an open-plan surgical area within which multiple patients are treated in their own dedicated space, separated from each other.
Barn Theatres help to improve workflow through the operating room and facilitate knowledge sharing among surgeons. They also have the potential to increase patient throughput, depending on operational methodology.
However, there are challenges with this particular type of theatre layout. Infection control is critical in any surgical area, and even more so in a barn theatre to avoid the spread of infection between patients and/or cross-contamination of the separate patient zones.
It was vital, therefore, that Howorth deliver an environment that was HTM compliant and supported post operative recovery.
Solution
The clients brief was to deliver a facility similar to a twin Barn Theatre previously delivered by Howorth.
The Howorth Exflow Evolution 32 UCV canopy was selected along with KLS Martin Independant medical service pendants.
Howorth worked closely with the clients design team to ensure HTM 03 compliance of the UCV Canopies at commissioning, ensuring airflows, entrainment and noise levels were all assessed.
Outcome
With early design involvement and collaboration we were able to install our equipment and ensure that all systems could be correctly commissioned & validated initially, but then also maintained to the highest level in the future.
Revised noise levels of HTM 03 01 (2021) were easily achieved across the barn at 50.5 dBA and supplemented UCV control systems meant that EC technology could be utilised within the centrifugal UCV Fans.
Our KLS Martin pendants provide the clinical teams with optimum movement within the UCV footprint whilst limiting restrictions through their intelligent engineering design.
Howorth were proud to support the client, main contractor and design team and hope that the theatre staff enjoy the space for many years to come whilst offering the best possible patient outcomes.