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East Kent Hospitals

East Kent Hospitals and MIW

East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) is one of the largest hospital trusts in England. Serving a local population of around 695,000 people as well as providing a number of specialist services to the wider population, it has five hospitals and community clinics within its remit. In November, 2019 Trust managers embarked upon a project to enhance patient hydration facilities in its three main hospitals. They appointed MIW Water Cooler Experts to oversee the project.

The Brief

This project would be based across three hospital sites – Kent & Canterbury Hospital, William Harvey Hospital and The Queen Mother Hospital. MIW would be required to:
 

  • Provide advice on equipment specifying, logistics and installation for all three hospitals.
  • Identify equipment that was: easy to use, easy to maintain, durable, wheelchair accessible, hygienic, and compliant with all relevant health and safety guidelines.
  • Customise the water dispensers with specific NHS branding prior to installation.
  • Arrange an installation timetable that would cause the least possible disruption to hospital patients and staff.
  • To provide ongoing support and aftersales following installation.

The Process

For this project, the MIW team needed to work closely with both EKHUFT and the three hospitals where the bottler fillers were to be sited. It was vitally important that the precise needs of each hospital were understood and that the machines were suitable for each of the chosen locations.

Taking into consideration all of the stated requirements provided by the Trust and the hospitals, MIW recommended the Branded Eco-Dispenser HTHB-1500-80 bottle filler. WRAS (Water Regulations Advisory Scheme) approved, the unit answered all of the stringent water authority and UK Government health and safety guidelines, as laid out by the EKHUFT Technical Division. The sensor operation means that the bottle filler is easy to use for all comers. It is also wheelchair accessible. The stainless-steel body is both highly durable and vandal resistant, with a security screwed cabinet for further protection. Delivering an impressive chill flow rate of 80 litres per hour, it can cope with the potentially high volume of users the hospitals would expect. It is also one of the most eco-friendly chilled bottled fillers available in the UK, so it won’t drain resources with high running costs. Lastly, it features an inbuilt bottle counter, allowing both the public and staff to see just how much the unit is being used.

Once the EKHUFT Project Management Team were satisfied with the selected equipment, MIW worked with them to arrange the customisation of the units. A design that would both reflect NHS branding and attract potential user attention was agreed upon, and implemented by MIW, prior to installation.

MIW then coordinated an installation timetable that would cause the least onsite disruption to the patients and staff of the three hospitals.

The Project Continues

Two bottle fillers were sourced, customised and installed at each of the three hospitals involved in the EKHUFT project. The installations were completed according to the agreed schedule and budget.

MIW continues to work with the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust, servicing, maintaining and sanitising the equipment as required.

Who we work with