Medstor Ireland recently worked with David Jordan Architects and main contractor, Titanium Developments, at the Blackrock Clinic in Dublin to provide catheter and general storage for the clinic’s impressive new dedicated electrophysiology (EP) laboratory.
Cardiac catheterisation gives doctors important information about the condition of the heart muscle, valves, and blood vessels in patients with cardiac arrhythmia. Expensive and delicate, the catheters used must be stored very carefully. The new laboratory – part of a €2 million investment – is equipped to an extremely high standard, giving Irish patients access to the latest technologies – some not widely available in most European countries.
Medstor was brought in early on, when the architects asked the company’s Business Development manager, Dom Gradwell, to review designs and ensure they met HTM 71 requirements. He then worked with the Medstor team to develop a full materials management programme for the lab – including catheter-specific cabinets, each with capacity for boxed catheters and additional storage, and standard cabinets for medical / surgical supplies. All the cabinetry was in a bright white colourway to complement the lab’s ‘clean, modern aesthetics’.
To ensure fast and easy access to the boxed catheters, Medstor equipped the cabinets with telescopic runners that hold an 800 mm deep mesh tray. A bespoke divider across its X and Y axis keeps the catheters separate from each other, minimising damage risk, while the telescopic runners means trays can be pulled out very smoothly, and the back accessed as easily as the front.
While catheters must be kept behind closed, locked doors for security and infection control, Blackrock Clinic wanted the clinical team to be able to see what was behind each door, so they could find items quickly. As locks cannot be attached to polycarbonate, Medstor designed a framed door, the frame around the polycarbonate providing a surface to which the lock could be fitted. The Medstor installation team worked closely with Titanium Developments, who built the spaces into which the bulk cabinets were fitted, to ensure they could be comfortably incorporated into quite a limited space.
Medstor said: ”Once again, our solutions meant every millimetre of space could be used to the full, streamlining storage, and ensuring that all catheters and consumables were stored safely until needed.”
