Selecting the right water treatment solution

An integral part of any hospital disinfection system is having a reliable source of purified water in line with the relevant HealthTechnical Memoranda (HTMs). Here, Kalpesh Shah, head of Sales – ProcessWater, at VeoliaWater Technologies UK (VWT UK), looks at the guidance within the HTMs, and provides an overview of the crucial practical issues to consider when it comes to implementation on site.

Disinfection systems are crucial to the running of hospitals and healthcare facilities in order for them to maintain an adequate level of infection control. As such, the installation and maintenance of a reliable and consistent source of purified water to these disinfection systems is key. The Health Technical Memoranda (HTMs) provide detailed guidance on a variety of areas relating to the design, installation, and operation of hospitals and healthcare facilities. The HTM portfolio includes documents discussing the design and required standards for the decontamination of surgical instruments (HTM 01-01), and the management and decontamination of flexible endoscopes (HTM 01-06).

In the majority of healthcare facilities, endoscopes and other instruments that cannot be thermally sterilised at temperatures above 60 °C are chemically disinfected and rinsed in purified water. In most cases this is done through the use of automated endoscope reprocessors (AERs) or washer-disinfectors (WDs) for sterile surfaces. The HTM guidance, along with ISO 15883, specify the general performance requirements for AERs and WDs, and the minimum water quality that should be supplied to them.