Hi-tech ventilation, larger bed bays and more single ensuite rooms will help reduce the spread of infections in the new Midland Metropolitan University Hospital (MMUH).
The new healthcare facility in Smethwick cares for seriously ill patients, with one large critical care department.
Jamie Whitehouse, Matron for Infection Prevention and Control at Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust which runs the new hospital, said: “There has been a number of notable improvements made at the new MMUH site to improve infection prevention and control.
“A key difference being that 50 per cent of patients will be housed in a single, en-suite rooms; improving not only privacy and dignity for our patients, but our ability to prevent the spread of healthcare associated infections from patient to patient too.”
All rooms are now larger with additional floor space that can be cleaned more easily than previous flooring, aiding the prevention of infection spreading, including healthcare associated infections.
Jamie added: “We all learned about the importance of ventilation during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The Midland Metropolitan University Hospital is equipped throughout with a ventilation system built in accordance with current healthcare building regulations. This means wherever our patients are located, the air is continuously being replaced. It will be a leader in infection prevention and control as a result, protecting all patients and staff within the facility.”
Various other steps have been taken to improve infection prevention and control at MMUH – including cutting-edge technology to help disinfect and decontaminate environments using UVC light. As a patient with a known infection leaves the room, it is cleaned with detergent and chlorine followed by a machine-designed process to remove all remaining bacteria or viruses on surfaces.
Sandwell Hospital’s inpatients were moved over to MMUH on 6 October, whilst City Hospital’s patients will be moved on 10 November.