Extermination is the name of the game for brand new machines purchased by the Friends of St Mary’s Hospital.
The machines bear a passing resemblance to those dreaded Daleks, however no doctor has cause to fear them, though. In fact, it is quite the reverse with their target being pesky bugs that all hospitals have to diligently guard against.
The machines comprise a single system for eradicating harmful organisms or bacteria, such as clostridium difficile, as well as viruses and fungi. Both are activated remotely, with one ‘fogging’ a vacated room or ward area with a hydrogen peroxide vapour, and the other then making the gas inert so enabling the room/area again fit for occupation.
Thanking the Friends charity for a grant of nearly £24,000 for the machines, infection prevention and control nurse Derek Bampton said although they already have a steam system, many items, including electronics, have to firstly be removed from the area.
“As a result, a cleansing operation was much more time-consuming. Whereas this new system penetrates everything, and quickly enables us to then move on to another area of the hospital. We are now busy training five members of the cleanliness team on how to safely use the machines”.
Photographed: Derek Bampton (centre) is joined by Friends volunteer Penny Benham and one of the hospital’s steam cleaners, Robert Digby
