Thursday 5 December 2013

Water Quality Concerns


Hospital water systems are of importance for a number of applications, including supplying equipment, irrigation, washing patients, and for staff hand washing. It follows that managing a hospital water system plays a key part in contamination control. The risks are foremost to the patient, with a secondary risk to the healthcare worker. Contamination also presents an economic burden to the hospital, especially the cost of rectifying the contamination within the water system.

 Water presents a ‘dual problem’ because it not only provides a medium for microorganisms to grow, it is also easily spread and contamination can pass over large areas through the spread of water droplets and via aerosols. To explore the issues of good water system management, Tim Sandle has written an article for the magazine European Medical Hygiene.

 In the article, Dr. Sandle addresses the types of microorganisms found in water systems; the types of organisms that might be considered as ‘objectionable’; good control practices for water systems; biofilm risks; and good design principles.

The reference is:

Sandle, T. (2013). Water Quality Concerns: Contamination control of hospital water systems, European Medical Hygiene, pp14-19

Copies of the article were distributed at Medica in November 2013. If you would like to obtain a copy, please contact Tim Sandle


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