Silver beats the bugs

In conjunction with coating specialist BioCote, whose anti-microbial silver coatings were also applied to furniture, curtains, blinds and doors in two trial outpatient wards, electrical accessory manufacturer Crabtree developed a range of switches and socket outlets incorporating a BioCote-based antimicrobial coating for testing. Silver, used for many years on items such as catheters and wound dressings to reduce infection risk, is a natural antimicrobial, with a high efficacy against bacteria, mould and fungi.

The trial saw furniture and equipment, including electrical accessories, in one of the two wards treated with BioCote, while similar components in the other ward were left untreated. The ward containing protected products was shown to have 95.8% less bacteria present in the environment than the “standard ward”.

The company added: “These initial indications show using anti-microbial products in a hospital environment can lead to a reduction in bacterial colonisation, meaning a more hygienic patient environment. With fewer bacteria present, it is logical that crosscontamination risks are reduced and consequently the risk of patients being infected with “superbugs” is also cut. Crabtree stresses that silver antimicrobial technology is not a substitute for, but should rather complement, conventional cleaning.