Armstrong comes clean on the healthcare issue

Guides to ceiling and wall systems appropriate for the particularly demanding environments of healthcare buildings have been launched in three mediums by Armstrong Ceilings, the UK's leading interior solutions provider.

Hospitals and health centres have to meet a plethora of health and safety, indoor quality and maintenance criteria, with the control of bio-contamination and disinfection of vital importance in these days of MRSA.

But at the same time as hygiene needs are paramount so too is the patient experience in contemporary healthcare and Armstrong's "Healthcare segment" brochure, healthcare interactive flash http://www.armstrong-ceilings.co.uk/commclgeu/eu1/uk/gb/healthcare.html and new healthcare CPD advise how this element can be designed into healthcare spaces using appropriate ceiling and wall systems to optimise factors such as acoustics and natural daylight .

The 32-page "Healthcare segment" brochure advises on the most appropriate mineral and metal ceiling tiles and grids to meet healthcare criteria such as anti-microbial performance, air quality, cleaning, humidity resistance, fire reaction, acoustic performance, light reflectance, guarantees and recycled content.

For instance, Armstrong's Bioguard mineral and metal tiles, which are treated with a special anti-microbial surface paint, provide ISO 5 to ISO 3 in minimal risk areas such as offices and halls, and average risk areas such as pharmacies and maternity areas.

These tiles can be used along with Armstrong's CLEAN ROOM® grids in severe risk areas such as intensive care units, delivery rooms and laboratories, and very high risk areas such as operating theatres and transplantation areas.

Case studies detailing how products such as these helped specifiers meet healthcare performance criteria at sites such as Tameside General Hospital and University Hospital, Birmingham, are contained within the brochure.

The interactive healthcare flash presentation http://www.armstrong-ceilings.co.uk/commclgeu/eu1/uk/gb/healthcare.html gives viewers the option to focus on individual healthcare spaces such as MRI rooms, operating theatres, consulting rooms, reception areas, canteens and corridors.

They are then advised on the performance criteria of these rooms, with PDFs available to download, and on the Armstrong solutions available, with examples through case studies of how these have been put into practice. The case studies are also accessible directly from the home page if required.

The CPD, "Principles of a good healthcare environment", also details how Armstrong's industry-leading End-Of-Life and Off-Cut Recycling schemes benefited projects such as Tameside and Birmingham hospitals.

ENDS