A hospital in Dublin is among the first to employ a new UVC disinfection robot to clean its rooms in a fraction of the time it would manually take before.
The robotic cleaning technology in use at the Mater Hospital is contactless and uses UVC lights to decontaminate a room in an average of 10 to 20 minutes, a process that would previously have taken staff between two to three hours.
UVC light refers to ultraviolet light of a particular wavelength, which has been shown in various studies to have the ability to kill or inactivate microorganisms by disrupting their DNA.
Momentum Support, the Irish-owned company delivering the cleaning technology to the hospital, said the technology will ensure all surfaces are free of Covid-19 and other bacteria.
Head of General Services at the Mater Hospital Kathleen Whelan said the hospital made the decision to transition to the UVC cleaning method following the onset of Covid-19 to enable it to operate more efficiently and to alleviate pressure on cleaning staff.
“This new state of the art cleaning technology will have a significant impact on reducing the time it takes to disinfect an area, which will help us to be more efficient as we strive to provide our patients with the highest standards of care,” she said.
“Now more than ever, hygiene is critical and this new solution is a positive step in helping to reduce the risk of contamination.”
Momentum Support staff have been trained to operate the new UVC technology in the hospital and liaise with the hospital’s infection prevention and
control team on a daily basis to identify the wards, theatres and waiting areas requiring decontamination.
The UVC machine, which is operated by a smart app, scans the area to measure how long the process will take. Once completed, the room is ready to
reuse.
The device has a built-in safety mechanism to switch off the machine immediately when someone enters the room, in order to prevent exposure to
UVC.
Ian Anderson, Group Chief Operating Officer at Momentum Support, said it was “proud to assist the Mater Hospital to deliver a high quality cleaning
process through UVC decontamination and ensure all surfaces are free of Covid-19 and other bacteria.”
“We will continue to operate to the highest standards possible as we support all of our clients during this particularly difficult time. I would like to thank
all our staff for their continued hard work and dedication during these challenging times.”