Suppliers respond to multiple demands

 Having considered some of the key safety and other practical considerations when selecting flooring on pages 59-62, HEJ reports here on a number of interesting recent healthcare flooring installations in the UK and overseas – where flooring’s ability, in tandem with other elements such as furniture, lighting, and wallcoverings, to transform the clinical, staff, or patient environment, is clearly evident.
There are perhaps few other building types that place such varying and onerous, or indeed relentless, demands on a floorcovering system as, say, a large acute hospital, GP’s surgery, or indeed a care home for elderly patients. Not only must the flooring for use in such healthcare establishments be durable, if possible infection-resistant, easy to clean, and able to withstand both hard knocks from beds, trolleys, and medical equipment, and heavy footfall, but in many instances it must also help to create a bright, calming, relaxing, fun, or simply ‘clean and functional’ feel, depending on where it is to be installed. Fortunately, sophisticated material and manufacturing technologies have seen leading flooring specialists develop an ever wider range of flooring products well-suited to healthcare use, many of which, the manufacturers claim, combine eye-catching aesthetics with the required durability, ease of fitting, cleaning, and maintenance, and, of course, the ability to resist infection.

Making an entrance

The entrance to a building – hospitals and other healthcare facilities being no exception – is, of course, one of the most important areas in any publicly used facility in terms of creating the ‘right’ initial impression. With this firmly in mind, one of the leading flooring suppliers, Forbo, says its recently introduced entrance flooring product, Coral Welcome, ‘makes a luxurious and stylish design statement, with its contemporary linear design and rich pile height’. However, Forbo adds – acknowledging the importance of the ‘green agenda’ in healthcare as in many other spheres today – alongside being eye-catching, Coral Welcome is also ‘an environmentally friendly choice’. Janet Lowe, UK market manager, Forbo Flooring Systems, explains: “Coral Welcome is made from 100 per cent recycled yarns captured from old carpet and fishing nets, while the primary backing is made from recycled PET bottles and recycled yarn – creating a highly functional entrance matting system, suitable for use in heavy commercial areas, that works hard to remove both moisture and dirt.”