Maintaining strict environmental standards is essential within hospital aseptic units, where sterile medicines are prepared for patient use. Even minor contamination risks can impact product quality, patient safety, and regulatory compliance.
NHS Velindre Hospital has trusted Dycem contamination control solutions within its Aseptic Unit for more than 13 years, helping to support controlled conditions in a busy healthcare environment with high levels of daily foot traffic.
Challenge
Before installing Dycem, the aseptic unit relied on disposable peel-off adhesive mats to reduce contamination transfer into critical areas. However, despite their use, microbial counts continued to exceed maximum acceptable limits.
This created an ongoing challenge for the team, who required a more reliable and effective solution to help maintain the environmental standards expected within Grade C/D classified areas. With consistent staff movement and operational demands, the hospital needed contamination control that would perform continuously without disrupting workflow.
Solution
Following a review of existing measures, the hospital transitioned to Dycem’s inlaid CleanZone system.
Rather than using temporary sticky mats, Dycem was permanently inlaid into the vinyl flooring, creating a seamless, integrated contamination control surface at key entry points and traffic routes. This approach offered several advantages:
- Continuous contact with the Dycem surface during foot and wheeled traffic
- A smooth, professional finish integrated into the flooring
- Reduced trip hazards compared with peel-off alternatives
- Easy incorporation into existing cleaning procedures
- Long-term durability for busy hospital environments
By ensuring staff walked directly across the polymeric surface every time they entered controlled zones, the hospital maximised the opportunity to capture and retain contamination from footwear and wheels.
Results
Following the switch from peel-off mats to Dycem, microbial counts decreased, helping the aseptic unit maintain more consistent environmental control.
The recent inlaid flooring upgrade has further enhanced performance by ensuring maximum contact with the Dycem system at all times. This supports the hospital’s ability to maintain a stable Grade C/D environment, even with significant daily traffic through the unit.
“The finish with the Dycem inlaid into the vinyl is excellent. With large amounts of traffic within the aseptic unit, the flooring system ensures a consistent Grade C/D environment.” – Martin Rees-Milton