Howorth Air Technology has won a major service and validation contract with private healthcare specialist Spire Healthcare, covering all Spire’s ultraclean and general operating theatres, and including microbiological testing in the general theatres.
Spire has engaged Howorth to undertake limited service functions at its hospitals since 2009, but when the entire contract recently came up for renewal, Howorth bid to take over total theatre test and validation for all 37 Spire hospitals. Howorth won the contract both due to its “competitive pricing”, and because it could offer a comprehensive service, including remedial works to UCV canopies, and recommendations on overcoming any other problems with theatre ventilation systems. Its service package will include an annual inspection of AHU and plantroom equipment in line with HTM03-01 Part B, not previously been undertaken. To maximise cost-effectiveness, it also suggested making an annual, rather than bi-annual service visits, and training hospital engineers to undertake interim pre-filter changes themselves. Howorth’s Service division has, in recent months, significantly expanded its services, adding to its portfolio theatre and cleanroom validation, pharmaceutical and medical equipment spares and upgrades, duct cleaning and sterilisation, and microbiological sampling. It has also taken on four additional engineers.
