So we now have 2 products to choose from L8 Shower Recycle Scheme and the Dupal Disposable Shower Kit. Both of these products are aimed simplifying the HTM and ACoP quarterly shower deep cleaning and descaling requirement.
Currently the HTM states that a sites Water Safety Group should ensure that - 'There should be strict adherence to the recommendations in HSG274 Part 2.' The HSG274 Part 2 states that the following action should be taken for Showers and spray taps - Dismantle, clean and descale removable parts, heads, inserts and hoses where fitted. This should be done Quarterly or as indicated by the rate of fouling or other risk factors, eg areas with high risk patient.
As most of you know this kind of compliance is time consuming and difficult to control and manage in real life. Thats where replacing shower heads and hoses for new ones every quarter simplifies the compliance.
I can imagine some of you will be thinking 'So whats the difference between the L8 Shower scheme and a Disposable kit?'
The larger hospitals in the UK can use up to 1000 showers a quarter. Cleaning and descaling every quarter and keeping all the records for the audit is an authentic nightmare! Throwing away 4000 showers a year is not an option either. L8 Shower Recycle scheme was designed to make this task simple, fool proof and recordable for the whole year for larger sites.
Each quarter of the year has its own identifiable colour, all workers on site can easily see if a shower missed its change over, it will be the wrong colour! The showers have unique packaging that enables the used units to be securely removed from patient areas and repacked for collection. No water spills and no soggy boxes hanging around.
When the changeover is complete the used showers that in some cases take up a large amount of space are collected and recycled responsibly with 100% of waste diverted from landfill, the majority of which will end up being made into something else.
Customers of the L8 Scheme benefit from having an account manger to personally oversee their orders, deliveries and collections. Ensure they are on time with the changeovers and meeting the quarterly requirement of the guidelines. It is a total solution offering control, sustainability and simple compliance.
In contrast to the larger sites we have identified that smaller sites really struggle to get best prices as they never buy in large enough quantities, they also have a lot less showers on site to manage but still need to meet the compliance guidelines set out in HTM and ACoP. Being a smaller site they are more able to manage there own waste. They are also more able to complete their shower changeover in a day or two. For these customers the Disposable kit is a perfect solution.
The two colours still enable an identifiable change at swap time and the Estates team monitors their own change over schedules ensuring the swap over is completed every quarter. The used showers are the responsibility of the site to dispose of correctly. The real up side for the small sites is the affordability of the Disposable kits. Yes they have more to manage themselves but with a smaller site this is not the same insurmountable task faced by the bigger sites.
Which one is right for you will depend on your needs. Both are tried and tested and one thing is for certain both will simplify and maximise your HTM and ACoP compliance in a cost effective way.