Patient comfort a priority at Walsall Manor Hospital’s new unit
Story by
June 27, 2019
A new Intensive Care Unit (ICU) opened in December 2018 at Walsall Manor Hospital, which provides specialist care to critically ill patients. Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation has been installed on the unit to assist with effective temperature management to safeguard patients’ wellbeing. The project has also targeted a BREEAM rating of ‘Very Good’.
Walsall Manor Hospital, based in the West Midlands, is managed by Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust and provides acute care and multi-disciplinary services to around 260,000 people in and around Walsall. The new ICU has merged the hospital’s Intensive Therapy Unit (ITU) and the High Dependency Unit (HDU), to create an 18-bedded unit. Due to the nature of critical care, it was essential to maintain a safe and comfortable temperature for patients.
M&E contractor, Chase Insulations, installed 3,000 lm of Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation on the HVAC pipework in conformance with Kingspan’s high standards. The insulation delivered a simple, low maintenance solution for effectively reducing heat transference and ensuring optimal heating and cooling system efficiency.
Samuel Hitch, managing director of Chase Insulations, discussed the specification at the hospital: “It was important for this project that there was minimal disruption to the rest of the site, and that we got the unit operational as soon as possible. Having worked with Kingspan Industrial Insulation before, we knew that their insulation is easy to handle and lightweight, which enables a quicker installation. Using premium performance phenolic lagging also meant we could help keep the project costs comparatively lower than using other insulation materials.”
Midwest Electrical Services carried out all the mechanical installations, including the centralised steam heating system, domestic hot water, cooling and filtered ventilation systems running throughout the ICU’s roof space, walkways and plantroom. The heating and cooling systems are also distributed to the Trox Active Chilled Beams. These serve the heating and cooling needs within each bed bay and communal areas within the ward space. As a result, it was especially important that the insulation used across the pipework was suitable for an environment where a patient’s immune system could be easily compromised.
Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation has been awarded a best-in-class Eurofins Indoor Air Comfort Gold certificate, recognising it as an outstanding material according to the VOC Indoor Air Quality emissions standards. The certification also displays compliance with the relevant requirements within standards such as BREEAM, LEEDv4 and EMICODE.
Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation has been assigned a BRE Green Guide rating of A/A+. Its fibre-free core is manufactured with blowing agents with zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and low Global Warming Potential (GWP). The product is manufactured under a BS EN ISO 14001: 2015 scheme and is the first pipe insulation product to attain BDA Agrement certification under the scheme.
With Kingspan Industrial Insulation’s free Pipeline Technical Advisory Service, which can be contacted on 0808 168 7363, clear advice and guidance can be accessed at every stage in a project. There are also Premier and Premier Plus Services which support purchases of Kingspan Kooltherm Pipe Insulation and the Kooltherm Complete Pipe Insulation System (incorporating insulated pipe support inserts and fire sleeves).
