The onus on healthcare design professionals to create buildings that are a great deal more than places to heal is part of a significant movement towards making healthcare establishments increasingly far better environments for the patients, staff and visitors that inhabit them.
GenesisCare provides the highest levels of patient-focused care across a network of conveniently located, purpose-built cancer centres. When Ward Robinson instigated a new flooring specification for their client’s Windsor facility they chose international flooring specialist Gerflor to supply products that would meet and exceed their expectations. Gerflor know that well-designed facilities play a pivotal role in improving the patient ‘experience’.
The GenesisCare project would need a top-level company to both design and project manage the development. A well- established firm of interior designers and project managers would be charged with the weighty responsibility of delivering the result required. Newcastle-based Ward Robinson offer both services either individually or simultaneously for prestigious clients nationally and internationally. It’s a success story going back over 25 years.
Jackie Dent, Director, Ward Robinson commented, “our company was already commissioned as project manager, so when the client decided to make Windsor their flagship UK centre we were brought on-board to develop the interior design scheme into something unique and inspiring to match the client’s aspirations”.
The vast swathe of Gerflor products installed would include over 120m2 of Taralay Impression for the chemotherapy rooms, 1200m2 of Taralay Impression Control safety flooring for a host of public areas where slip resistance is a must, together with 200m2 of Mipolam Accord EL7 being installed in the MRI areas. This rich trio of high-quality flooring would deliver the technical performance and stunning aesthetics Ward Robinson were keen to achieve. Jackie Dent went on to further say, “we chose Gerflor products because the design options available were perfect for our interior scheme. Also, we have worked with Gerflor products before and they are superb to work with”.
The chemotherapy areas would see a marked improvement, as specifying Taralay Impression delivered a design-led flooring which would also cope with the chemotherapy fluids used in this area of the facility. By using Taralay Impression it produced the best of both worlds as it allowed the same design to run throughout whilst providing ease of cleaning. The Taralay Impression flooring range is equipped with the Protecsol® 2, patented surface treatment from Gerflor obtained by UV laser cross-linking, offering the best chemical resistance to the main products used in healthcare environments including; betadine, eosin, hydro alcoholic solutions. This treatment avoids applying any acrylic emulsion throughout the lifetime of the product saving on cleaning time and money as it reduces water and detergent consumption. The other locations that would benefit from Gerflor products included; corridors, consulting rooms, CT and radiotherapy, together with staff rest rooms and toilets. It’s testament to the quality of Gerflor’s healthcare product ranges that such a large area of a hospital-driven environment could be specified from one single source manufacturer.
Taralay Impression Control is the perfect option for a wide variety of healthcare new builds and refurbishments where high volumes of footfall are expected and there is a need for safety and slip resistance. A multi-purpose floorcovering available in 2m sheet format with a Group T wear rating, it’s ideal for a host of heavy traffic environments where slip resistance is a must. Available as a dual collection: - ‘Safety in Wood’ and ‘Safety in Design’, the range includes realistic woods in contemporary colours and modern all over designs. Taralay Impression Control also has a Pendulum Test value +36, meets HSE guidelines (BS 7976-2), a surface roughness of >20 RTM-RZ and R11 ramp test value (DIN 51130), together with providing 24 design-led colourways and is perfect for a host of other contract applications. Taralay Impression Control also offers a hygienic solution thanks to a revolutionary UV cured PUR surface treatment for easy cleaning and maintenance. With the Protecsol® Control surface treatment it’s easy to clean, is 100% recyclable, offering a state-of-the-art flooring solution for a myriad of applications.
Mipolam Accord EL7 from Gerflor is a dissipative flexible homogeneous vinyl floorcovering available in both sheet and tile form, calendered and compacted. This floorcovering is treated with Evercare™: the latest improvements in polyurethane surface treatment obtained by UV laser cross-linking. Evercare™ provides outstanding chemical stain resistance and increases the long-term durability of the flooring. This treatment has excellent maintenance characteristics; it requires no wax for life! Mipolam Accord EL7 also acts as a continuous dissipater 106 ≤ Rt ≤ 108. The product is non-reactive to residual indentation with a value ≤ 0,02 mm. The flooring has a group P wear rating and is Bl-s1 fire resistant, together with providing a R9 slip resistance rating in the wet. The product is non-emissive of volatile organic compounds with TVOC after 28 days ISO 16000-6 µg/m3 < 10. Mipolam Accord EL7 also comes with a Floorscore® certification and is 100% recyclable.
The high-quality installation that would be needed to meet the stringent requirements on final finishing would be the responsibility of Leeds-based Phoenix Flooring. Their Managing Director Matt Brown said, “all the Gerflor products specified for this project were extremely easy to work with. We have installed Gerflor’s products on many occasions with great success”.
Gerflor have been managing life sciences contamination for over 80 years, delivering new, innovative solutions to meet the stringent demands of the market and its environments which embraces; pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medical devices, together with research labs and the biotechnologies sector. Their vast experience in the healthcare sector has enabled them to become a true expert in this field, creating, manufacturing and marketing innovative, decorative and environmentally-responsible flooring. Gerflor are a single supplier to a raft of healthcare facilities, providing a host of contemporary flooring, wall and door protection solutions.
Jackie Dent finally commented, “we would absolutely have no qualms in choosing Gerflor products again. The technical back-up we received in helping to select the appropriate products within the various clinical settings was excellent”.
