Buying furniture for use in a medical establishment is no simple task as the decision-making process has many factors to consider. While ensuring the comfort of your patients and their families are always a concern, hospitals in the United Kingdom are mandated to ensure that every piece of equipment, including furniture, are compliant with government regulations.
In choosing furniture for a hospital, the Health Technical Memorandum 63 (HTM 63) and 71 is typically used.
HTM 63 and 71 explained
Compliance to HTM 63 means that furnishings used in the medical setting must be durable and effective in infection control. The main features of this are directed at suspended base units and cupboards.
To comply with HTM 63, your furnishings must do the following:
- Have enough clearance to accommodate complete wet cleaning underneath
- Be fitted with cantilever leg units to ensure that no fixings are attached to the floor
Meanwhile, HTM 71 applies to the use of modular storage systems in hospital and pharmaceutical settings, particularly in medical storage units.
The HTM 71 requires the following:
- Modular trays in an open format with liner and basket trays
- Include doors on storage trays
- Prioritise easy access and organisation for products and treatments in choosing storage solutions
Why is it important to follow HTM 63 and HTM 71?
Both codes are put in place by government regulators to help ensure that patients and medical professionals alike are protected. These regulations give hospitals a standard to follow when it comes to choosing appropriate furnishings, such as hospital shelving and nurse stations.
For example, HTM 63 ensures that the whole floor area of hospitals is easy to clean. Also, prohibiting cantilever leg units from being attached to the floor ensures that floors are accessible by cleaning personnel and their tools at all times.
Meanwhile, the directives given by HTM 71 help ensure that medical supplies and treatment are always organised for easy access. Everything from medical trolleys to specialised storage systems must comply to help ensure that the right treatment and equipment is always going exactly where they are intended.
This essentially helps prevent confusion among personnel operating a hospital’s medical dispensaries, avoiding extreme cases wherein a misidentified medicine can cause negative effects or even death in unwitting patients. The same is true during emergency situations where even a few seconds or minutes taken to look for a particular piece of equipment can be crucial in saving a patient’s life.
How do I know that my supplier is HTM 63 and HTM 71-compliant?
For starters, the one sourcing your hospital’s furnishing must have HTM 63 and HTM 71 memorised by heart. Secondly, the supplier needs to be backed by many years of experience in implementing ward and departmental stock management. This way, you can rest assured that your supplier’s design and manufacturing process are informed by solid experience in supplying hospitals with regulation-compliant furnishings.
Lastly, your supplier should also have excellent customer support. A company with a robust customer support service signals that they stand by their product and execution.
Conclusion
Following HTM 63 and HTM 71 is not only about complying with government protocol. It’s more about ensuring that all hospitals in the UK, whether private or part of the National Health Service, are operating on the same level of standards. This ensures that operations remain at efficient levels and that healthcare providers can effectively meet the needs of their patients.
PP Healthcare Solutions offers HTM 71 storage products for hospitals in the United Kingdom. Our products include modular healthcare storage options, hospital shelvings, and more. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help!