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Overcoming drainage issues with minimal disruption

Richard Leigh, Business Development director at commercial and domestic drains specialist, Lanes Group,says the sector needs to work hard to improve awareness among healthcare professionals - no matter what their role – of the potential dangers posed by drainage emergencies in healthcare facilities, and how to avoid them.

If you think of the myriad of problems that can occur in a hospital, drainage problems probably will not be near the top of the list. However, issues with a hospital’s drainage infrastructure have the real potential to bring the building to its knees, and have a profound effect on its ability to house and treat patients who urgently need the best medical care. Earlier this year, Lanes Group submitted a Freedom of Information Request to 122 NHS England hospital Trusts to learn more about the disruption drains have caused, to which 94 Trusts responded. We learned that since 2012, services have been interrupted, or wards closed, due to drainage issues in 9% of hospitals in England. In some cases we found that operating theatres have even had to close as a result of blocked drains. 

In this article I will discuss the unique challenges that we at Lanes Group encounter in and around hospitals – many of which are not considered, anticipated, or easily seen by the public or even medical professionals – as well as how our experts have been able to solve them. 

In addition, I will address the factors all hospital employees need to think about to ensure that their place of work is as free from drainage emergencies as possible.

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