The St Francis Private Hospital and its associated nursing home, St Clair’s, both in Mullingar in County Westmeath, have demonstrated their confidence in the anti-microbial properties of copper by specifying copper door handles for extensive use throughout both facilities in a bid to reduce hospital-acquired infections.
The 140-bed hospital and its nursing home made the decision – they are said by the Copper Development Association to be the world’s first healthcare facilities to specify anti-microbial copper door furniture – after “examining the compelling evidence from a clinical trial at Birmingham’s Selly Oak Hospital” (see also this month’s “Comment” and article pages 43-47), which showed copper surfaces such as taps, toilets, and door push plates, can reduce microbial contamination by 90-100%. General manager and director of nursing Noeleen Sheridan said: “As it is estimated that 80% of infections are spread by touch, keeping surfaces like door handles as germ-free as possible will impact on the spread of infection. Our decision to specify antimicrobial copper products is based on this conviction, and the compelling evidence from the Selly Oak clinical trial.”
