A UK hospital which is expanding its endoscope reprocessing department has installed a new system to supply HTM2030-compliant water.
Around 50 endoscopes are currently being reprocessed each day in the 450-bed Barnsley Hospital, by means of two Labcaire Guardian automatic reprocessors.
However, the capacity is set to increase by 50%, due to increasing demand not only from within the hospital but also from others in the area.
An ELGA Process Water Biopure 600 unit will be installed to meet this need.
The water treatment system works by feeding up to 600 litres per hour of softened water via a ring main to the endoscope reprocessors. Water from the machine is used for all parts of the wash cycle, although under the HTM2030 standard this is only required for the final rinse.
“We decided to do this after consulting with the infection control team,” says Estates Manager Paul Hawcroft.
“We believe that using only a single water system eliminates possible sources of infection. The water might be a bit more expensive but, when you take into consideration the additional valves and pipework for a dual system, the total cost is not a lot more and it’s much simpler to maintain.”
The Biopure 600 encloses a highly efficient reverse osmosis membrane that removes both organic and inorganic contaminants, and an integral treated water reservoir complete with bacterial vent filter.
Water pumped to the ring main goes via an ultraviolet lamp to continually destroy bacteria, while a final molecular ultrafilter ensures the removal of endotoxins, bacteria and particulate contaminants.
