One of the UK’s most historic hospitals, St Mark’s in Maidenhead, Berkshire is now home to two new state-of-the-art audiology test rooms, using products from IAC, a provider of noise and acoustic control products, structures and test facilities. The facility has been commissioned by St Mark’s in a bid to improve hearing services for patients within the town and surrounding area.
Tony Argyrou, part of IAC’s Medical Project Management team, said: “The Trust recognised that their 20-year-old facility was no longer able to meet demand and was too often necessitating patient retesting. This new facility eliminates background noise so they’ll no longer see artificial depression of low frequency thresholds. We’ve eliminated reverberation from loudspeakers so that now thresholds across the frequency range can be more accurately tested, particularly in children.”
These two fully air-conditioned audiometric test rooms are located within what was formerly the pharmacy suite. They were constructed on a roomwithin- a-room basis, within a completely refurbished ground floor traditional-build shell, with good solid external and partition walls.
A quadruple-glazed, tinted acoustic window links the Control Room with Test Room One, while the Noiselock acoustic “link” doors have double magnetic seals for superior noise isolation. Each room is finished internally with wall fabric covering, carpets to the floors and mineral tile acoustic ceilings. The electrical system comprises threecompartment dado trunking complete with VRA wiring, dimmable highfrequency lighting and a special cable transit system for connection of specialist equipment from the Control Room directly into Test Room One.
Roger Green is the clinical director of the East Berkshire Audiology Unit at the Windsor, Ascot and Maidenhead Primary Care Trust. The unit provides a full range of paediatric and adult care, including digital hearing aids for adults and children, comprehensive balance assessment and management, community newborn hearing screening programme, programmes for tinnitus, hyperacusis, central processing disorders and bone anchored hearing aids. Pauline Warner, project manager for the refurbishment of the Audiology Unit at St Marks Hospital said. “This is the only site within the Trust that has not been fitted with IAC booths and so now we will soon be able to provide the above services in facilities that meet the National Standards.”
