While negotiating the coronavirus pandemic, the UK is simultaneously developing the next normal for healthcare.

Continued adjustment in the way medical facilities operate is not an elastic process; it won’t spring back to the way it was before.

Rather, these changes will mould how healthcare is accessed and delivered. They will create not just a ‘new normal’ but an ‘evolving normal’ as we gradually understand more about COVID-19 and its impact on everyday life.

At present, the medical, psychological and rehabilitation requirements of patients recovering from COVID-19 are unclear. Meanwhile, guidance for preventing the spread of the virus is still in a constant state of flux.

While nobody can be confident of exactly how our ‘next normal’ will look, we can be certain of one thing; infection control will be front and centre of virtually everything in medical facilities.

Sluice room technology is rapidly developing to keep up with the growing expectation of infection control standards.

Some 85% of UK hospitals use pulp macerators in their sluice rooms but this doesn’t mean that all machines are created with equal benefits.

Pulp maceration has advanced significantly, even in the last year. The latest technology can help your facility to thrive in the ‘next normal’, however unpredictable it may look; so it’s important to weigh up the latest available options alongside your existing strategy. There could be numerous advantages that you hadn’t yet considered – allowing you to improve sluice room efficiency and, more importantly, save lives.  

Enhanced Anti-Microbial Protection

MicrobeSafe+ antimicrobial protection from DDC Dolphin prevents the growth of bacteria on hard surfaces. It is included on the exterior of all current DDC Dolphin macerators and provides impressive passive protection by destroying germs at a cellular level.

When a germ lands on an antimicrobial protected surface, the antimicrobial ingredient within the surface breaks down the infected/infectious cells. The germs then die and are unable to reproduce.

MicrobeSafe+ keeps working in the background, 24 hours a day, with no input required from your busy clinicians – making it the ideal accompaniment to a hard-working infection control strategy.

Fully Contactless Operation

It shouldn’t be news to you that the fewer touchpoints you have in your sluice room, the better.

Pulp macerators have been incorporating contactless operation, in some form or another, for some time but this technology is now becoming more efficient and intuitive.

The latest machinery not only features footcups for hands-free operation but also hand sensors and auto-start functionality – allowing clinicians to use a macerator without ever needing to touch it. This reduces the risk of cross-contamination significantly.

Blockage Alerts

Macerator blockages are an acute infection control risk, forcing clinicians to make dangerous choices while the machine is out of service.

Do they travel with human waste to another area of the facility? Do they bag up the used pulp items for later collection? Or, worse, do they just let them stack up in the sluice room until the macerator is fixed?

The best solution is to avoid blockages as best you can. Thankfully, the emergence of blockage alert technology means that a periodic overflow rinse will communicate any issues before they develop further.

In addition, improved blades in market-leading macerators will cut pulp into finer pieces, preventing pulp from spinning in the machine and ensuring that the pieces pass through the sewerage system with ease.

Advanced User Guidance

During the grip of a pandemic, your staffing levels are often on a knife-edge. If one clinician shows symptoms, your whole team needs to self-isolate.

This can result in a flood of unfamiliar staff on a ward, who either work elsewhere in the facility or have been hired on a temporary basis. These clinicians – although certainly diligent – will need time to familiarise themselves with their new environment.

The latest pulp macerators are designed to be as user-friendly as possible, making the amount of pre-existing knowledge required to operate a machine minimal.

LCD antimicrobial screens guide the user with clear visuals, transcending language barriers and preventing breakdowns through accidental misuse by ensuring that clinicians are confident of what can be placed in the machine, as well as how to operate it safely.

Prepare for tomorrow by exploring the Pulpmatic Eco+ from DDC Dolphin today.

The Pulpmatic Eco+ is the most environmentally friendly, economical and hygienic macerator on the market.

Featuring all of the benefits discussed above (and many more), you can be confident that the Eco+ will provide the defence you need to ensure a safe sluice room environment, protecting both patients and clinicians from preventable infections.

Ready to find out more?

Take a look at the Eco+