The 1st Hospital in the NHS
Trafford General Hospital in Greater Manchester has an enviable record in the prevention of the spread of infections such as C.Difficile and MRSA, with no recorded cases in nearly 4 years.
Trafford General (formerly Park Hospital) was the FIRST NHS hospital opened in July 1948 by Aneurin Bevan, and as such is still held in high esteem and pioneers many new technologies and treatments.
One of the main areas of concern of the Microbiology Department at Trafford was the heating system which was primarily LST convector radiators. These were a magnet and breeding ground for the very spores the hospital was trying to eradicate.

LST Radiators and infection Control
Radiators heat the wards and corridors by convection – the process of warm air circulating and drawing up the colder air from the floor. As well as being inefficient from an energy management perspective, - as the ceiling is heated first and very high temperatures are required to create the air currents, - the system naturally picked up the spores and germs and trapped them in the grilles and slots inside the radiator covers.
The spores, dust and dirt would accumulate behind the radiators, much as they do in the home, but with much more serious consequences for the occupants, as they would provide the ideal breeding ground for C.Difficile and other communicable diseases.
Cleaning inside and behind the radiators was practically impossible in a busy hospital ward as major disassembly and disruption is necessary. A major redevelopment was already underway in the Paediatric ward, and the Microbiology department were adamant they did not want to see the old style radiator system re-installed. But what other alternatives were there?
The search was one for an alternative way of heating the hospital.

Alternative Heating Systems
Several alternatives were sought. Clearly under floor heating was an early front runner, but quickly discarded as retro fitting it into a 60 year old hospital was practically impossible. Overhead radiant panels showed promise, but these have been used many times in clinical environments with poor results. Being overhead and very hot, they are equally difficult to keep clean and patients and staff complain of the uncomfortable hot-head and cool feet they unavoidably create.
By chance, a Dr in the Microbiology department happened upon an alternative form of heating – via the skirting boards. Having been seen on a BBC program where inventors pitch their ideas in order to gain an investment, the concept was relatively new, but had been gaining ground in the domestic heating market.

Eureka Moment
In a Eureka moment the Dr realised that as the system combined the radiant heating effect into the skirting panel, it enabled them to be kept clean using the existing hygiene methodology; i.e when the floor was mopped with regular disinfectant. The product has been used successfully many times in domestic situations and offices, but had not been installed in such a demanding environment, but early tests were very positive.
In addition to the demanding hygiene requirements, NHS Estates requires a low surface temperature of 42degC or less. This figure is now openly being questioned, as the test data supporting this limit is more than 60 years old and based on pig skin exposed to running water – a very different set or circumstances to a hard surface, and not considered appropriate in other EU directives on hot metal surface safety.