A new tool in the armoury for infection prevention and control professionals was launched at IPS 2012 – the BIOQUELL ICEpod. The temporary enclosure has been developed to help healthcare workers control outbreaks and manage patients who are known/suspected to be infected or colonised with nosocomial pathogens.
The ICE-pod can be erected rapidly and, by providing additional single occupancy areas, helps to increase the flexibility of the hospital. It comprises walls, a roof, bi-folding doors and an air handling unit with integral HEPA filtration, helping to ensure that pathogen-contaminated air is not spread around the hospital. Each enclosure has large, transparent windows to offer visibility for staff and patients, with opaque lower level panels to reinforce the sense of a private patient room. To enable full privacy, the Bioquell ICE-pod also incorporates rails specified to fit standard hospital curtains. Alcohol hand rub, gloves and gowning materials are mounted on the front fascia to help facilitate good hand hygiene and infection control practices. Each enclosure can also be sealed for decontamination using Bioquell hydrogen peroxide vapour (HPV) technology.
