An Irish hospital is the first in the world to embrace the latest science by specifying hygienic copper door handles throughout in a bid to reduce healthcare associated infections such as MRSA, providing the best possible solid protection to its patients.
St Francis Private Hospital, a 140-bed facility located in Mullingar, County Westmeath, and its associated nursing home, St Clair’s, made the decision after examining the compelling evidence from the clinical trial at Selly Oak Hospital, Birmingham, which showed that copper surfaces such as taps, toilet seats and door pushplates can reduce microbial contamination by 90-100%.
The General Manager and Director of Nursing, Noeleen Sheridan, explains the landmark decision: ‘All healthcare facilities are acutely aware of the risks from the spread of germs and the high costs of negating them. As it is estimated that 80% of infections are spread by touch, keeping surfaces like door handles as germ free as possible will impact on the spread of infection. Our decision to specify antimicrobial copper products is based on this conviction, and the compelling evidence from the Selly Oak clinical trial.’
Professor Tom Elliott, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust’s Deputy Medical Director and leader of the Selly Oak copper clinical trial, believes copper could play a key role in helping to contain healthcare associated infections. ‘Laboratory research has shown that MRSA and Clostridium difficile microbes die much more quickly when they come into contact with copper-based surfaces than on the usual surfaces you find in a hospital. It is an exciting development and could provide NHS Trusts with yet another means of tackling the spread of healthcare associated infections.’
The use of copper as a preventative health measure is becoming increasingly well recognised. Copper is the first solid surface material to be registered with the US Environmental Protection Agency as having proven public health benefits, helping to reduce contamination between cleans. Antimicrobial copper surfaces have been shown to kill more than 99.9% of specific bacteria (including the MRSA superbug) within two hours, and to continue to kill more than 99% of these bacteria even after repeated contamination.