Electrical Safety for Hospitals archivos - ETKHO Hospital Engineering

How to ensure safety in high-risk laboratories

High-security and/or high-risk laboratories are highly trained facilities equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, which makes them dangerous and high-risk places. It is therefore vital to be aware of safety standards.

In this sense, the implementation of criteria to ensure quality, whether it be obtaining accreditation such as GLP (Good Laboratory Practices), NE 45001 or ISO 9000 certification, clearly demonstrates the correct application of a safety policy.

Implementing a high level of safety and following the recommendations to guarantee safety in high-risk laboratories is non-negotiable.

Therefore, at ETKHO we have prepared a basic guide with the main rules that must be followed in high-risk laboratories, how to act in case of emergency and accident and the levels of biosafety.

All the keys to the correct design of an operating theatre

The correct design of the operating theatre is what will allow hospitals to have the most efficient operating theatres that are adaptable to the unstoppable innovation in health.

Hospitals, as a result of the social, economic and healthcare context we are going through, must optimise their resources more than ever. Efficiency, performance and innovation must go hand in hand in order to reduce healthcare spending without jeopardising increasingly patient-centred care.

Within the improvement of hospital facilities, surgical intervention areas are one of the areas where most elements have to be taken into account, and where at the same time more casuistry and problems can occur. Thus, one of the main tools for improving operating theatres is innovation in their design and conversion into modern units.

To address this issue from all angles, at ETKHO we have dissected the main keys that must be taken into account for the correct design of an operating theatre.

Equipment and facilities for haemodynamics operating theatre

Over the last two decades, the development of cath-lab rooms in hospitals has gone hand in hand with the profound transformation and innovation in hospital equipment, safety conditions and process improvement.

A profound transformation in which interventional procedures have become major players.

As new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities have appeared in this type of hospital, the level of training of medical staff, as well as the human, technical and equipment requirements, have been modified.

Find out from ETKHO what haemodynamics operating theatres consist of and what systems and elements they should contain as a basic foundation for their optimal functioning.

The hybrid operating room: design, equipment and benefits

The hybrid operating room is a great advance in the field of surgery, since, in general terms, it allows multidisciplinary work by specialists from different areas and helps to perform complex surgeries faster, easier, safer and less invasively. But what exactly is a hybrid operating room?

It is a surgical room that is equipped with advanced medical imaging/radiodiagnosis devices, allowing different diagnostic and therapeutic procedures to be carried out simultaneously.

A hybrid operating room allows the insertion of catheters or endoscopes through small holes with which to view smaller anatomical regions, greatly facilitating the surgery process.

Electrical safety in the ICU and resuscitation areas

Hospital units, especially ICUs, are contexts with high risks of electrical failures if they do not have an adequate electrical safety system.

Today, most medical devices are electronic, so they are powered by power supplies and the electrical grid. If an electrical safety failure occurs, the risk of patient injury is high. Especially, in areas such as the ICU or other critical areas in health centers.

The ICU is the intensive care unit of a hospital, that is, the area of a hospital center where the most seriously ill patients who require continuous and specific surveillance and attention are admitted.

By critical areas we understand those areas of the hospitals where health care is produced in which the risk is high. In addition to the ICU, for example, we find operating rooms, emergencies, clean rooms, isolation rooms, ICU…

To maintain hospital electrical safety in these areas, there are various elements that protect and guarantee the electrical supply. We are talking about, for example, IT power systems, uninterruptible power supplies or ground connections, among others.

5 Healthcare trends in 2022

Hospital engineering, electrical safety, the consumerization of health, mobility and telemedicine are some of the challenges that will mark the future of global health this year.

Like every beginning of the year, it is always interesting to analyse the trends that we will find in the health field. With our sights set on this 2022, at Ethko we have detected some of the main items or elements that will be decisive in hospital centers. From the outset, we cannot ignore the pandemic, which although it no longer causes the same havoc as in 2020 and early 2021, we do have to take into account that the transition from pandemic to endemic will take place.

There will be new treatments and vaccines on the market and in the sector to deal with Covid-19. In this regard, the reinforcement of primary care is a yes or yes that, however, produces more uncertainty than anything else. We already know that this virus has become persistent in thousands of people, something to keep in mind. European funds for health, the impact of mental health… The topics will be many and varied.

However, we can talk about the 5 main trends that will mark the path of health in 2022.

Alarm repeaters

Current alarm repeaters, in addition to their basic and logical use, which is to ‘snitch’ about an error or possible problem situation, have evolved to help medical personnel act. And it is that health workers have often considered this alarm as a necessary ‘nuisance’, seeing its required maintenance as a nuisance.

The fact is that, with some frequency, medical personnel have not known how to act in the face of these alarms. Or they simply did not know the risk situation that was taking place, especially in the alarms related to electrical safety.

But today, alarm repeaters not only provide additional information to medical personnel, but indicate what to do at all times to remedy the situation, or who to call. With them, touch screens also stand out on technical panels, for example in operating rooms, which allows the graphic display of the alarm with icons and colors.

Hospital safety equipment maintenance protocol

The maintenance management of safety medical equipment in hospitals contributes to providing better and greater productivity of services and equipment.

The quality of the healthcare environment is often determined based on this management, determining the final expenses and costs of the hospital safety equipment, the quality of patient care and the confidence of the healthcare professional.

For this reason, the professionals who are in charge of the management of the medical team have to make sure that this type of device is up-to-date, works correctly and can extend its useful life to the maximum without giving up its optimal functioning.

How to get it? Through the implementation of maintenance protocols for security equipment in hospitals.

Prevention of occupational hazards in hospitals

It is essential to guarantee the prevention of occupational risks to all workers in health centers.

The famous popular saying “in the blacksmith’s house, a wooden knife” can well be applied to the prevention of occupational hazards in hospitals. The reason? That historically occupational health has not been especially considered in centers that, precisely, look after the health of people and patients.

A contradiction that in recent years, fortunately, has undergone an important paradigm shift. The job security of health workers begins to gain more and more strength. Especially, after situations as serious as those we have experienced with the coronavirus pandemic. But there is a lot of work to be done.

Hospitals are those large work centers whose activity encompasses the diagnosis, treatment and care of the sick. But, and sometimes even more important, with lives at stake, it is essential to value the work of professionals.

8 ETKHO solutions for electrical safety in operating rooms

Electrical safety in medical centers, especially in critical hospital areas, is a matter that must be considered with the utmost seriousness.

Having a well-designed and complete electrical system is equivalent to taking all possible precautions beforehand and, therefore, facing the potential complications related to hospital electrical safety.

Not surprisingly, hospital units are contexts with high risks of electrical failures if they do not have an adequate electrical safety system. We are talking about failures that are not only limited to material equipment, but can cause damage and human loss.

At ETKHO, as experts in hospital electrical safety, we are specialized in the manufacture of electrical safety equipment and services for hospitals and operating rooms.