Andy Jones, Hospital Manager at Fairfield Independent Hospital, St Helens, explained how the hospital needed to increase its endoscope decontamination capacity to satisfy increased patient numbers. Plus improve equipment reliability and future proof the decontamination facility. This led to the installation of two pass through automated endoscope reprocessors (AER’s) along with a duplex thermally sanitised water treatment system that supplies reverse osmosis (RO) water to all stages of the cleaning process.
With the board’s approval Andy Jones went to market and researched suitable endoscope decontamination equipment, talking and visiting a selection of sites. After much research he decided on two Wassenburg WD440PT AER’s. This doubled their decontamination capacity and with their twin chamber design, if one chamber were to be out of action for routine service, the remaining three chambers could still function resulting in less downtime.
Wassenburg recommended that they install an Envirogen Group EndoTherm Duo reverse osmosis water purification unit which is designed to meet with water quality standards of HTM01-06, HTM01-01, ISO15883. This included a duplex facility to offer the resilience that Andy was looking for. Its flow rate of >300 litres/hr covered the demand from both AER’s and with the EndoTherm Duo running duty assist rather than duty standby, it easily covered up to 600 litres /hr for short periods if necessary. For future proofing the EndoTherm Duo is easy and cost effective to upgrade.
The hospital already had an RO system in its sterile services department from Envirogen, so were already aware of the high quality after sales service and low running costs available and were happy to run with Wassenburg’s recommendation. Given the small footprint of the new EndoTherm Duo reverse osmosis unit, it was located next to the AER’s in the washroom – this greatly reduced stainless steel pipework costs. To accommodate the new equipment, it was decided that they would convert an old kitchen into the endoscope decontamination area. This area is located outside of theatre and centrally in the hospital giving more flexibility on where the endoscopes can be used.
To ensure minimum disruption to the hospital, communication, and planning between Wassenberg, Envirogen, and the hospital was essential. Overall, the complete work (including building work) took 16 weeks, during this time the existing system remained in place. The switch between the old and new system took place smoothly and with minimum disruption.
Andy Jones, Hospital Manager, Fairfield Independent Hospital says:
“All expectations of the new endoscope decontamination facility have been met. I’m very pleased with the new equipment; both the Envirogen reverse osmosis water purification treatment system and the Wassenberg AER’s. Since the system was successfully installed, we have not had to cancel any lists due to the reliability of the complete system. It really has been a breath of fresh air.”
Key outcomes
The hospital now sees >200 patients a day and key benefits from the new installation include:
- No cancellation of lists since the system was installed
- Creation of a day-case clinic due to increased scope reprocessing capacity
- Shorter cleaning cycles/quicker turnround for the endoscopes
- Full tracking and traceability on all scopes as required by the current guidelines
- Improved working environment for endoscope decontamination staff with designated loading and unloading areas
- A long-term PureCare service maintenance contract ensures that the RO plant continues to operate at maximum efficiency.
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About the client
Fairfield Independent Hospital is one of the very few remaining charitable hospitals in the country. For over forty years Fairfield has been providing a clean, safe and welcoming environment for healthcare and treatment.