As part of its ongoing effort to combat HCAIs, the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital (RMCH) recently added the Surfacide Helios Ultraviolet C (UV-C) Disinfection System to its cleaning protocol. The Helios system is a triple-emitter UV-C hard surface disinfection system that eradicates multi-drug resistant organisms in the patient environment.
Surfacide says the RMCH is the first hospital within the NHS to use UV-C technology as a complement to traditional cleaning methods joining many healthcare organisations around the world.
The hospital will deploy four UV-C Disinfection Systems (12 emitters) throughout the hospital to protect patients and staff.
"Our number one goal is to keep our patients safe, not only through the advanced care we provide, but also through the environment in which we provide that care," said Julie Jolly, Matron – Service Improvement, Enhanced Recovery and Care Co-Ordination,and V2A Programme Lead (Children's), for Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.
"We are extremely pleased with the efficacy and impact of Surfacide's Helios system in protecting our patients from the bacteria and viruses that can cause HAIs."
RMCH conducted an independent pilot study using the UV-C Disinfection System in the hospital's Oncology/Haematology Unit. The eight month independent study compared standard cleaning protocols alone to those including Surfacide Helios UV-C Disinfection. The result was an 83.7% decrease in contaminated sites and a 43% decrease in HCAIs when the Helios system was introduced into the patient environment along with standard cleaning procedures.
The Helios system was effective at reducing and eliminating a variety of drug-resistant microorganisms and has been shown to eradicate multi-drug resistant organisms, including C.Diff, MRSA, VRE, CRE and Acinetobacter.
The Helios system introduces three UV-C energy emitting towers in the patient environment versus other systems that only use one. The triple emitter approach decreases the distance to contaminated surfaces thereby reducing disinfection time and improving overall efficacy. In addition, the system is highly effective at covering all areas of the room, including the bathroom and other hard-to-reach areas. Finally, it reduces the amount of time to clean a room since the emitters do not need to be moved during the cleaning process.
The 10-20 minute Helios disinfection cycle is performed in an unoccupied room after an environmental services cleaning professional has manually cleaned the area and wiped down surfaces. The system uses an automatic laser mapping feature to measure the room and detect potential areas of contamination. These measurements are then incorporated into an algorithm to determine an optimal time to complete the disinfection process.
