The Importance of Selecting the Right Hospital Doors

Here’s some advice about key design considerations when specifying doors in hospitals and other hygiene critical facilities.

Since microorganisms can be transmitted by contact, choosing the right doors can make a huge difference to infection control. Hospital doors can be a major source of contamination as they are the piece of equipment which is touched the most by patients and staff. Hospital doors are also vital for controlling clean air and traffic flow. This is why it’s crucial that the correct door is chosen as it can significantly affect the risk of infection.

Making the right door choice

When specifying hospital doors, considering the following points will not only help infection control, but it will also ensure building regulations are met and the doors operate efficiently, with a long, trouble-free lifespan.

Hygiene performance
Inorganic door construction
X-ray and laser protection
Hermetic sealing for clean air control
Fire and smoke regulations
Automations and accessibility
Strength, durability and maintenance requirements
Sound insulation
Life cycle costs.

Choose Hygienic Door Materials

One of the most important aspects of a successful infection control policy, is choosing the correct materials for both the construction of the room and the components within it.

The Health Building Note 00-09: ‘Infection control in the built environment’ offers valuable guidance for architects and specifiers. ‘Doors should be cleanable, that is, smooth, non-porous and fluid resistant’. This is particularly crucial in areas where infection control is paramount.

Hospital doors should be carefully selected to ensure they are constructed using an inorganic hygienic material such as GRP (Glass Reinforced Polyester). Doors should also be easy to clean and resistant to moisture and disinfection procedures. A smooth construction should be defined as seamless with no texture, voids, reveals or laminated components which can harbor bacteria.

Specifying hygienic GRP doors for infection control

Hygienic GRP hospital doors are manufactured from a high technology moulded composite which has been independently tested. Laboratory tests conducted by IMSL (Industrial Microbiological Services) prove that hygienic GRP doors help prevent bacterial and fungal growth. Dortek Hygienic GRP doors have been independently tested by IMSL for resisting infections such as MRSA, Aspergillus Niger, Staphylococcus Aureus & E Coli.

Critical to the doors hygienic performance is its one-piece moulded GRP construction with no seams, joints or voids where bacteria, dust or dirt can build up undetected. The inorganic construction and water repellency of Dortek doors provides no sustenance for harmful microorganisms. Hygienic GRP hospital doors have no lips, joins or edges (even around vision panels). They have an easy to clean surface which is unaffected by moisture or common cleaning chemicals and disinfectants. Colour is also built into the gel coat of the door to provide continuous long-lasting protection, which is not reduced by impact damage.

Hermetic sealing for clean air control

Hermetically sealing doors should always be considered for reducing cross contamination through air flow in high risk areas such as operating rooms and patient isolation areas.

Hygienic GRP hospital doors can be supplied with hermetic sealing options for controlling air. Hermetic hygienic doors have a unique patented track system so it seals perfectly against the floor and frame. The efficiency of the seal has been officially tested and results show it to be over 99% effective thus helping to reduce the spread of airborne infections, cross contamination and air handling costs.

Third party tested fire ratings and lead protection

In certain areas of a hospital, evacuation in the event of a fire is almost impossible. Intensive care units and operating theatres are obvious examples. Fire doors are often the first line of defence in a fire and their correct specification can be the difference between life and death for building occupants.

Hygienic GRP doors have a vermiculite-core and can provide up to 4 hours fire protection. Vermiculite is a mined mineral rock, which is classed as non-combustible. Hygienic GRP fire doors have been third party tested and have a patented concealed intumescent strip built into the door. This maintains a smooth seamless profile ensuring that there are no seams or ledges where dirt and germs can gather. It is also ideal for high traffic areas as it never comes lose or needs to be replaced. Hygienic GRP doors can also be supplied with x-ray ratings and sound insulation for the added protection of patients and staff.

Touchless automations to reduce cross contamination

Hygienic GRP Doors can be automated to provide hands-free entry and further reduce the risk of infection. The doors use an intelligent automation which is key for user safety. The automations react to the smallest obstruction and photo sensors stop the door from closing onto passing traffic. Doors can also be provided with access control systems, locking and interface with BMS (Building Management Systems) for extra security.

Durability and life cycle costs

With sustainability at the forefront of the healthcare sector, doors which require frequent servicing or redecoration should always be avoided. Hygienic GRP doors are up to 42% lighter than wood or laminate doors. This removes any need for expensive maintenance work or replacement due to excessive wear on hinges and closers. GRP is an exceptionally strong and heavy-duty material which gives it the lowest whole life cycle costs in comparison to other alternatives.

Complete project management from specialists with over 50 years’ experience

Dortek has over 50 years’ experience working in the healthcare sector and has completed over 2000 projects for the NHS, international healthcare authorities and the private sector.

Dortek’s in-house project managers work with architects to provide fully integrated, hygienic door systems which help to improve both infection control rates and operational costs. Dortek hygienic GRP doors are extremely versatile and can meet a wide variety of performance characteristics to suit all healthcare applications. This includes requirements for hygiene, fire ratings, smoke, air sealing control, touch-free automations, x-ray and laser protection, acoustics, water resistance, infection control and durability.

For these reasons Dortek hygienic GRP doors are specified by hospitals, architects, healthcare planners and infection control departments across the world.

Just some of the hospital’s already benefiting from using Dortek’s hygienic GRP hospital doors.

The London Clinic, Harley Street, UK
Great Ormond Street Hospital, UK
School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK
Royal London Hospital, UK
Guys and St Thomas Hospital, UK
New York-Presbyterian Hospital, US
Yale University Hospital, US
National Children’s Hospital, US
Baptist Health South Florida, US
St. Luke’s Hospital, US
Sengkang General Hospital, Singapore
Ng Teng Fong Hospital, Singapore
Singapore General Hospital, Singapore
KK Women and Children’s Hospital, Singapore
National Heart Centre (NHC), Singapore
National University Hospital, Singapore
National Centre for Infectious Diseases, Singapore
Alice Spring Hospital, Australia
Vincent’s Private Hospital, Australia
Royal Adelaide Hospital, Australia
Mercy Hospital, New Zealand

Five Crucial requirements for hospital doors

Before you select a hospital door, ask questions about these important qualities

Hospitals require the utmost standards of hygiene and cleanliness. Yet hospital design extends far beyond increasing hygiene.

Efficiency, cost and speed are all key concerns when designing any part of a modern hospital - particularly when you consider tightening budgets and an overburdened healthcare sector.

With these factors in mind, we’ve broken down the design requirements for hospital swing doors into 5 crucial segments for your consideration.

1) What is the weight & durability of the hospital door?

For most applications, such as around your home and in office spaces, the weight of a door is completely ignored. This should not be the case with hospital traffic doors.

Three major factors make weight an important consideration for hospital door design:

The frequency of people travelling through the door
The speed at which they are travelling, and
The way that they open the door.

A hospital Emergency Department will have high frequency, high speed traffic, day and night. That means all doors need to open quickly, yet still be durable enough to take repeated impacts.

There is however a more crucial factor: the way people navigate through hospital doors. in fact it isn’t uncommon to hear thermal traffic doors referred to as 'crash doors' thanks to the punishment they are subjected to.

In a lot of cases, such as when nurses are wheeling beds, wheel chairs and trolleys through hospital doors, they travel backwards using their shoulder, heel or backside to push through the door. Even when travelling forward, opening a heavy door while also pushing, towing or carrying an item can be very difficult. This is something Equipment Manager, Troy, at St John of God, Ballarat Hospital identified as a major issue for his workplace.

“The doors were far too heavy, and presented a concern in terms of ease of use, weight and functionality.”

Strain injury was becoming a major concern at Ballarat hospital with their old, heavy timber doors. Troy even goes on to say that “there was a possibility we would have to decommission suites.” This shows how what may seem a minor concern can become a massive roadblock to the effectiveness of the hospital.

Remax Products were contacted to install 4500 Hospital Theatre swing doors to replace all timber hospital doors.

2) What materials are the hospital doors made from?

Luckily, timber doors are no longer the only option. New technology has allowed doorway and barrier companies to create one-piece polymer doors with high-density foam cores, offering a lightweight, strong, insulating and durable alternative.

Some polymer doors are even ultra high pressure filled, offering a density comparable to that of a timber door with an added, impressive thermal R-value of 3. These polymer doors can help save on air conditioning and heating bills throughout the hospital, as well as increasing efficiency and safety.

But polymer doors offer another significant advantage for hospitals: the added benefit for hygiene. Polymer panels have no gaps or joins and are impervious to moisture and acid petroleum products. This is crucial in a hospital where any chip in a timber door can create a harbourage for undesirable pathogens, and as we know, Surgical Site Infections (SSIs) are the second most common site of healthcare associated infections (HAIs)*.

There are several steps that have to be connected to result in infection for SSIs. The initial introduction of microbial pathogens occurs most often during the surgical procedure performed in the Operating Theatre (OT), so it makes sense to assess this risk influenced by characteristics of the healthcare facility (amongst other characteristics) and by method of elimination, cut out all possible risks of harbouring pathogens including timber doors.

A further advantage of most polymer doors is that the colour is evenly impregnated throughout the door. This means that the door maintains integrity and colour even with the toughest use and wear.

The benefits of a polymer door with its high durability and insulation qualities make it the better choice for hospitals looking to invest in their facility’s future.

3) How quickly do the doors open and close?

Speed is crucial in a hospital, where decisions need to be lightning fast and response times can be the difference between life and death. That's why it's so important that every part of the hospital is designed for optimal speed and efficiency, while not compromising on hygiene or durability.

The speed of a swing door depends on its weight, the resistance provided by the bearings, pressure and spring buffers on the door, and the force applied to open it. By keeping the weight to a minimum, you can immediately increase the door's opening speed.

Having the door on durable yet smooth mountings is another step. In fact, many hospitals rely on a quad-action opening mechanism, where double-hinged frames allow the door to open through 180 degrees each way. This means that traffic is equally unimpeded regardless of its direction.

To add to this, faster doors also mean less time for transfer of pathogens or other unwanted intruders through the doorway.

4) Does the door have a tight seal?

In any building, a door’s seal is important; in a hospital even more so. A tight seal is essential for hygiene measures, to protect against, dust, insects and contaminants.

It's crucial that a hospital door's seal is not only airtight and resilient, but also has very little space in its construction for harbouring unwanted contaminants. The seal can be one of the places where buildup is most likely to occur, particularly because it is the contact surface that rubs against the floor and ceiling, but also because it is often made of rubber, which is more susceptible to residue buildup than either polymer or stainless steel.

It is also important to ensure that your door is corrosion resistant, because corrosion will not only affect performance but also provide a perfect opportunity for contamination. This is largely the reason why hospitals and healthcare facilities use polymer and stainless steel for their hospital doors.

The seal on other doors around the hospital, including any roller doors to the external environment, should also be closely scrutinised.

5) What additional options are available?

Clearly not every hospital has the same layout or the same budget. That's why it's important that the door you choose has a standard option and then offers particular features as add-ons (keeping in mind that some add-ons will preserve the life the door for longer, which reduces maintenance costs down the line. So although you may be saving money right now by avoiding add-ons, you may need to think about your maintenance budget in the future).

6 key optional add-ons you should consider are:

Spring buffers: Pretensioned springs used to absorb impact and allow doors to open gently under stress, spring buffers give the door a reasonably uniform opening sequence (regardless of the pressure being applied to it), and also preserve the door against heavier impacts. Options will often include both polymer and stainless steel kick plates.
Mounting options: Most swing doors will be offered with a normal mounting plate but should also have the option for a support frame. This is a frame designed for openings that don’t have the requisite strength to support the door and the traffic flowing through it.
The support frame should easily fit to the inside of the doorframe to create a structurally sound framework. A well-designed support frame will come with bearings pre-mounted in the factory to ensure simple installation.
Windows:
Windows in hospital doors are crucial to know what is on the other side of the door, particularly when moving patients or fragile equipment, and all good swing door suppliers will offer you a range of windows for your door of choice.
For example Remax Doors
offers window frames in black, yellow, or white; the windows are available in clear, frosted or embedded with signage; and double windows can be fitted per leaf.

Preferably window choice will include double-glazed windows to assist with insulation. Good suppliers will also offer a window blind built into the glass of the window which provides privacy for hospital theatres when required but are sealed within the glass and will not harbour bacteria nor dust.

Push plates: Despite earlier mentioning that many hospital staff open the door in an unorthodox manner, it is still important to provide push plates to create an attractive focal point for entering personal. This encourages everyone to concentrate their contact with the door in one place, reducing grime to a single area that can be more easily cleaned. Consultants at Remax Doors often suggest adding stainless steel push plates on lighter coloured doors for this reason.

Kick plates:
Stainless steel / polymer kick plates assist with impact caused by trolleys / beds and pedestrian traffic while also maintaining the look of the door by helping to prevent scuffing on the door at foot level.

Talk to us about selecting your ideal hospital doors

If you would like to learn more about the various traffic doors available for hospitals, contact Remax Doors online or call us on 1800 010 221.

Notes:

*According to the American College of Surgeons, Kimberly-Clark, and more information on SSIs can be found here at the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care

4 Things To Consider When Choosing a Hospital Door

Oct. 31, 2022

Hospitals require the highest hygiene standards, and cleanliness and design are more than just improving hygiene factors. The design of modern hospitals involves many key issues, including efficiency, cost, materials, and speed. In this blog, we will introduce four basic considerations before investing in a hospital door so that you can make the right decision that meets all design criteria.

1. Weight and durability

Before investing in a hospital door, the weight of the door is one of the most important considerations, because people usually pass through these doors very often, and the way they open and close will vary. The door you choose should open quickly and be durable enough to withstand repeated shocks. In most cases, nurses or hospital staff use their shoulders, heels, or back to push the bed, wheelchair, and trolley backwards through these doors to push the doors open. The most important consideration here is that the door must stand out in terms of ease of use and durability.

2. Functional efficiency

Hospital decisions can be as fast as lightning. In many cases, reaction time may be a matter of life and death. Therefore, the design of the hospital door must have the best speed and efficiency while maintaining its durability and hygiene. The speed of a swing door usually depends on its weight, the resistance provided by the swing buffer and bearings. For example, the lighter the weight, the faster the door opens.

3. Material

Another key consideration is the material of the hospital door. With new technology doors, many surface material choices include veneer and paint. In addition, laminated doors are the latest trend in hospitals and healthcare facilities that are ready to be installed at any time. Doors with radiation shielding and sound insulation properties are also necessary. They are ideal choices for architects and designers in the medical field.

4. Hygiene

Hygiene is a factor that must be considered when choosing a hospital door. This is due to the simple fact that everything in a hospital is related to health and hygiene, and it is one of the most important aspects that determine the reputation and credibility of a hospital. You need an easy-to-clean door with antibacterial properties to avoid further spreading any infections.

We are hospital doors manufacturers. Please feel free to contact us if you are interested in our products.