Three specialist suppliers comment on the important factors to consider when specifying flooring and walling solutions.
The materials used within the healthcare building can have a significant impact on the wellbeing of patients and either contribute to the healing process or hinder it. This is particularly true of the floors and walls - the very fabric of the building itself. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. Continued innovation in materials and technologies means there is a choice available to meet the fundamental needs of a healthcare building and more. Plus, the solution may vary in different areas of the building according to usage.
Factors such as heating, insulation and acoustics are covered by the Health Technical Memorandum (HTM), but other factors include aesthetics, cleaning, functionality, cost and the needs of specific patient groups. Indoor air quality and environmental performance are additional factors that are growing in importance, both of which may be impacted by the choice of floors and walls.
Carpets
Carpet manufacturer, danfloor is the first to admit that carpet may not be suitable for all locations within a healthcare facility, but it believes that when it comes to areas such as consultation and waiting rooms, bedrooms, corridors and lounges, carpet plays a key role in creating an ideal environment for those using a facility, especially if they are visually impaired or living with a cognitive impairment such as dementia.
Unwanted noise can have an adverse effect on people in hospitals. Installing carpet means that much of the sound within a room is absorbed, thereby reducing sound reverberation. Carpets also help to reduce impact noise, helping to create calm and peaceful living and working environments. danfloor advises its Equinox Collection can achieve a reduction in transmitted noise impact of 29dB.
Carpet adds a warm and welcoming feel to any room and provides a soft cushioned layer for extra underfoot comfort. Acting as a thermal insulator, carpets improve energy consumption and have low heat conduction. It is estimated that up to 30 days of heating can be saved by installing carpets, resulting in a 4-6% energy saving and a consequent reduction in energy cost.
There are many functional benefits that a carpet, which is specifically designed for the care sector can provide, says danfloor. However, the question still arises as to whether a carpet is an easy flooring solution to clean and maintain and doesn’t pose an infection control risk.
Technical advances in yarn technology mean that danfloor’s Healthcare Collection is manufactured with specially selected yarns that refract light and minimise the visual effects of soiling and stains, whilst still being easy to clean and maintain. Its Equinox Collection and Economic range also come with an antimicrobial yarn treatment mædical™ i-Link™. This guarantees optimum active freshness and active hygiene for textiles, even after intensive use and frequent washings. mædical™ i-Link™ technology is based on the fixation of a non-migrating permanent coating on the carpet fibres. The coating is specially designed to deactivate micro-organisms, including the bacteria that causes MRSA.
Equinox and ECONOMIX Collection carpets are also manufactured with an impervious membrane which means that any liquid spills stay on the surface of the carpet until they are cleaned and will not seep through and contaminate the subfloor which can cause bacterial growth and odours.
“If you have a regular cleaning and maintenance schedule in place our carpets could assist with your infection control procedures,” says danfloor. “Plus, they could save you time and money, as contrary to popular belief carpets cost a lot less than hard flooring to clean and maintain.
“On an annual basis research suggests that it takes two-and-a-half times longer to clean hard floors than carpet and the cleaning chemicals needed for hard floors are seven times more expensive.”
Numerous studies have been completed in recent years about the impact of carpet versus hard flooring on air quality. Fine dust can present a significant health hazard, especially for allergy sufferers, as particles may cause irritation when they are breathed in and enter the respiratory tract. Many of these studies suggest that carpet retains dust particles, unlike hard surfaces where they regularly become airborne. If carpets are regularly vacuumed these dust particles, together with the allergens that are bound within them, are removed from the room without causing any discomfort.
Slip-resistant flooring
John Mellor, Market Manager for Safety Flooring at Polyflor, stresses the importance of choosing the right flooring product for healthcare environments.
In healthcare, as the number of people living with dementia continues to rise, careful consideration must be given to the type of flooring required and whether this is dementia-friendly. Over recent months, Polyflor has worked with the School of the Built Environment at the University of Salford as well as with the Salford Institute for Dementia to develop some key principles for dementia-friendly flooring that correlate with the overarching design principles laid down in The Department of Health’s HBN 08-02 Guidance, published in 2015:
* Develop one continuous flooring surface
* Careful use of tonal contrast, for example between the wall and the floor
* Reduce impact sound
* Use strong colours to give more depth to a room; this helps with perception
* Avoid sensory overload and false steps
* Choose a design with no sparkle
* Promote the use of a matt floor finish
* Choose a design where flecks blend in with the tone of the main floor surface
* Avoid unpleasant smells and odours
* Provide good transition between differing flooring finishes.
"It's about future-proofing the environment," explains Mellor. "More people are living with dementia and we know that numbers are set to rise further. Interiors need to be designed with this in mind and the approach needs to be holistic to involve every design element, helping those living with dementia to feel as comfortable as possible."
Polyflor's wide array of flooring options includes products that meet the dementia-friendly flooring principles, although Mellor says it isn't as simple as just 'badging' a whole product range as dementia-friendly and assuming that's enough. For example, specific design effects within the same range may be more suitable than others.
Polyflor seeks to engage with its customers to help them make the right choice of flooring throughout a facility. One of these decisions could be whether a safety floor is required, the use of which is a growing trend within healthcare environments. Safety flooring is becoming more appealing in terms of design clarity and offers a dementia-friendly and slip-resistant solution.
Mellor advises that when safety flooring is specified, the product’s slip-resistance needs to be sustainable. "A safety floor needs to perform for many years which means that particles have to be within the flooring’s performance layer, rather than there just being a reliance on an embossed surface without any particles. If the latter then the slip resistance will only be transient and once the emboss wears, which it will over time, particularly in a high traffic area, the floor becomes relatively smooth and is therefore not a true safety floor. In order to be classed as a safety floor, a product must also meet the particle based Safety Flooring Standard EN 13845 and meet the 50,000 cycles abrasion test as part of that standard."
Polyflor's safety flooring collection sold under the Polysafe brand is available in a sheet format, which is regularly used within the healthcare sector. The flooring can be welded at the seams for a sealed finish, ensuring there is no ingress of dirt or water that could lead to a build-up of bacteria.
"Regular daily maintenance of safety flooring is also critical,” cautions Mellor. “Always follow the flooring manufacturer’s cleaning guidelines and never polish a safety floor as it will impair the slip-resistance." Polyflor has floor care information sheets available on its website and has also recently launched a cleaning school to demonstrate how its floors can be cleaned effectively.
As infection control is clearly important in hospitals, Mellor recommends selecting a product with a polyurethane (PUR) enhancement, which makes the floor easier to clean and reduces lifecycle cleaning costs.
Polyflor also supplies vinyl wall cladding to complement its flooring portfolio, sold under the Polyclad brand. To create a perfect floor-to-wall solution, the flooring can be coved up the wall and welded to the wall cladding or secured using the overlapping method of installation to create a totally impervious solution ideal for many environments, including wet rooms.
Walls
To meet the complex requirements of a healthcare environment and the HTM standards, choosing the right building materials is key. Paul Campbell, Head of Product Marketing for British Gypsum explains: “Using specialist products, such as British Gypsum Gyproc SoundBloc and Gypframe AcouStud in the construction of walls can help reduce noise transmission between rooms. This helps to create a quiet space for a patient to recover, but also gives confidentiality for private discussions.
“Ceilings with a high light reflectance can maximise natural light within a design scheme, significantly reducing the level of artificial lighting needed. The British Gypsum Eurocoustic ceiling tile range, for example, helps reflect natural light while also absorbing sound.”
As cleaning is such an important consideration in the design of healthcare environments, all building materials need to be able to resist the penetration of water, cleaning detergents and disinfectants. “British Gypsum’s Eurocoustic CLINI’SAFE is durable and, thanks to a service finish that resists microbial growth, helps reduce the presence of E.coli, MRSA and Klebsiella pneumonia infections,” continues Campbell.
“It isn’t just the materials you can see that can help improve a healthcare environment. British Gypsum’s ACTIVair technology, for example, improves indoor air quality for patients and staff by removing formaldehyde from the air, converting it into inert and non-harmful compounds, eliminating any risk of re-emission.”
ACTIVair technology is available in Gyproc DuraLine, Gyproc SoundBloc and Rigidur H plasterboard, Thistle PureFinish plaster, and Rigitone and Gyptone ceiling ranges. Ceiling tiles and plasterboard products with ACTIVair technology have recently been used to help create a healthy indoor environment at a new unit of St. Mary’s Hospital in Kettering.
