The first ever study to look at how silver can reduce levels of bacteria in a hospital environment has been carried out by the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and BioCote Ltd. The environmental trial compares two out-patient wards in the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust, one at Heartlands Hospital, containing furniture and equipment which incorporates silver, giving them anti-bacterial protection and one containing standard, untreated items.
Silver is a natural anti-bacterial and therefore reduces numbers of bacteria, mould and fungi. When bacteria come into contact with the silver, they lose their ability to reproduce and they die.
A number of leading manufacturers of healthcare equipment and furniture work with leading technology supplier, BioCote Ltd, to incorporate silver into their products at the manufacturing stage. The silver additive gives the products built-in anti-bacterial protection. Silver can be incorporated into a variety of materials including plastics, fabrics, paints, powder coatings and papers.
Results from the trials show that the facility at Heartlands, which contained the products with silver had 95.8% less bacteria in the environment, than the ward with no silver-based products. The products tested in the trials included waste bins, blinds, tiles, door handles and light switches.
In addition, the results showed that in the facility at Heartlands, furniture and equipment with silver had 92.6% less bacteria on their surface than those without.
The trial shows that using silver-based products in a hospital environment can result in a reduction in bacteria, leading to a more hygienic and safer environment for patients. Fewer bacteria should reduce the risks of cross contamination and consequently the risks of patients being infected with “superbugs” such as MRSA.
These results prove that silver can complement the NHS’s cleaning and hygiene practices, to reduce levels of bacteria in hospitals.
The joint project between the Heart of England NHS Foundation Trust and BioCote Ltd began in May 2006, when Heartlands Hospital was the first in the UK to equip an out-patient facility with furniture and equipment that incorporated silver. As soon as the facility had been in use for 12 months, tests began to compare the products with and without silver and also to compare the Heartlands facility to a similar ward which only contains standard hospital equipment.
Matthew Harte, Managing Director at BioCote Ltd comments, “We believe that this initial study in conjunction with the NHS helps to justify the use of silver-based products. These initial findings indicate that the NHS should be increasing their use of BioCote protected products to help support hygiene practices within healthcare environments, leading to reduced HCAI rates”.
07 November 2007
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