During the commissioning of an NHS hospital’s newly constructed Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU), a high-risk augmented care ward, it was discovered that the Domestic Hot Water (DHW) system was not compliant with HTM 04-01.
The new ward was constructed on the ground floor of a multi-storey building. The DHW was to be supplied from nearly twenty pre-existing subordinate loops on the first floor. Unfortunately, inaccurate and assumed flow rates were used throughout the design specification prior to construction, resulting in almost a total lack of hot water circulation. Therefore, stagnant water in the return loops and a lack of thermal balancing systems resulted in non-compliant DHW temperatures being observed throughout the entirety of the new ward.
This posed a significant risk for bacterial proliferation, particularly Legionella. In an environment where patient immunity is often compromised, ensuring compliance with ACoP L8 and HTM 04-01 standards was critical for infection prevention.
To address this, the hospital approached Citritek to implement a solution for continuous monitoring, validating the efficacy of remedial work planned to improve the DHW system. The plan involved the deployment of wireless temperature sensors for real-time data collection and ongoing bacterial sampling of representative areas.
Additional flow rate assessments were also conducted, resulting in the installation of over 100 thermal balancing valves (TBVs) across all tertiary and subordinate loops in the affected areas.
Water temperature sensors were installed across the DHW in isolation rooms, showers, bed bays, and staff changing facilities, representing a range of high-risk and high- and low-usage zones. As the installation of TBVs progressed, Citritek’s remote monitoring solution provided the Trust with categorical evidence of the effectiveness of the remedial works during the project.
Improved Temperature Compliance
Bacterial Risk Reduction
Operational Efficiency
