The Right Flooring for Healthcare

A floor that is flexible and easily installed with proven integrity and clinical quality for the most demanding of sectors

FLOORING MIGHT not be the first component that springs to mind when we think about a healthcare facility. Hardly anybody notices it and yet it is involved in most of the work and would soon be missed if not there or if it couldn’t function as required. The challenge is both in understanding that, like any other part of the facility, the flooring needs to be appropriate to the different activities that take place, and in creating different flooring solutions that can match those various needs.

In 1982, Peter Gibbins developed a flooring solution for the food preparation sector that wouldn’t erode when exposed to quantities of sugar. He created a resin flooring solution ideally suited to the task and that led to the formation of Flowcrete, which today provides a range of floors suitable for a wide range of challenging applications. Through a mix of acquisitions and new product developments, Flowcrete has created a range of flooring solutions for most industrial and commercial applications, and for other applications where the quality of the flooring is critical to the quality of activity. That applies particularly to the various branches of the healthcare sector where structural integrity, ease of cleaning, resilience, chemical resistance and safety are all paramount considerations.

In tune with the times, these flooring materials are increasingly being developed as environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions with recycled products used wherever practical. Equally, delivery systems, wherever possible, use UN Certified Intermediate Bulk Containers (IBC’s).

From the considerable Flowcrete range of solutions, one stands out as suitable for healthcare facilities such as hospitals. Flowfresh, formerly known as Ultrafresh has been in

development since the early nineteen nineties. Over years of development, this product has continuously been improved including with the availability of minimal packaging, as it is possible to bulk produce and use IBC’s for storage and transportation, and decanting on site. We can use IBC’s because Flowcrete products have a stable emulsion, meaning they can be transported, stored and decanted on site without the product splitting or separating.

Flowfresh has been engineered to provide better physical properties, and sound strength properties. It is also an ideal solution for healthcare environments where its seamless application, meaning no joints, and therefore less opportunity for dirt and nasty substances to gather, makes it easier to clean. For heavy traffic areas and areas with more risk of slips, a system like SR (Slip Resistant) can be used. SR is a scatter system incorporating aggregate in the product and therefor the concentration of the aggregate infused in the Flowfresh can

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be determined depending on the level of slip resistance needed, i.e. ramps, high traffic areas and areas prone to spillages.

As recent times and events have demonstrated, the healthcare sector works around-the-clock in order to stay one step ahead of the numerous harmful viruses and diseases that increasingly threaten us, and they do that through, among other things, the adoption and application of rigorous cleanliness standards. In this perennial process, the floor is a prime area of concern for medical facilities; contaminants can easily move around underfoot and gravity ensures that most dirt, grime and bacteria will inevitably end up on the floor. Getting the finish right is therefore essential for sites determined to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness.

The key criterion for floors in such an environment is that they facilitate a fast and effective cleaning regime by being seamless, smooth and impervious. The floor needs to maintain these properties despite challenges such as constant traffic from staff, patients and wheeled equipment, spillages of liquids and potentially corrosive substances, frequent cleaning and physical impacts. If the floor fails then it will become difficult to clean, with the potential for germs to accumulate within unwanted cracks or where the surface has become abraded.

Flowcrete UK has developed an extensive range of flooring systems for healthcare facilities to ensure that a finish is available which will support the myriad types of activity in the sector, whether it’s within a hospital ward room, surgery, pharmacy, reception area, laboratory or the back of house and maintenance areas.

This includes hard wearing yet decorative epoxy finishes, fast curing systems that drastically reduce the application time and robust polyurethanes. Additional benefits can even be incorporated within the floor, such as anti-slip aggregates, navigational signage, aesthetically pleasing visuals and even efficient, space saving Isowarm underfloor heating. This underfloor heating option has been used in a number of healthcare facilities including Ryhope General Hospital in Sunderland, UK and Uppsala University Hospital, Sweden. Flowcrete products have also been involved in floor refurbishments at Great Ormond Street Children’s Hospital in London.

Floors are available for sectors such as healthcare, where sterility is critical, that actively target bacteria in between cleaning cycles. The HACCP International certified Flowfresh range includes the antimicrobial additive Polygiene®, a silver ion agent that targets bacteria in contact with the floor. Silver is a natural element known for its ability to purify and protect from bacterial infections – and provides an attractive, environmentally friendly alternative to chemically manufactured antimicrobials. This formulation meets the ISO 22196 standard for measuring a surface’s antibacterial effectiveness.

Up to now, Flowfresh has been predominantly used in the food and beverage sector where cleanliness and chemical resistance are key requirements. Today, it is also, and increasingly, being found in healthcare or neo-clinical environments where the integrity and cleanliness of the floor is of paramount importance. That’s because, the Flowfresh antibacterial polyurethane flooring range has been developed to service environments looking to satisfy the highest possible hygiene standards. Offering the strength, durability and resilience that have long been associated with polyurethane resin,

Flowfresh combines performance with the natural cleaning power of Polygiene® to deliver a surface product that continuously promotes the concept of hygienic, decontaminated and clean floors. With the Polygiene agent – a silver-ion based antimicrobial treatment placed within the resinous flooring material – Flowfresh floor coating system is proven to inhibit the growth of most types of harmful bacteria.

Different capabilities for different applications

There are several variants of Flowfresh suitable to different priorities and circumstances and, because they are more fluid in texture, installers can cover more surface in less time. According to the durability requirements, users can select MF, the medium duty product, or HF, the heavy duty product. It can be self-levelling at installation, SL, or it can be applied with a rake and trowel, RT. There’s also SR, the slip resistant variant incorporating aggregate which can be tailored for specific areas according to aggregate needed. Because of the liquid nature of Flowfresh, it’s easier to change aggregate and aggregate density according the project needs.

As with any structural component, the process and quality of installation will contribute hugely to the quality and durability of the product. Also, the base on which the product is installed will be crucial in those respects. A concrete or screed substrate is required and it will need to be free from laitance, dust and other contamination. It should also be dry and not subject to rising damp or ground water pressure. A damp proof membrane might be the answer to damp but if no membrane is present, Hydraseal DPM can be incorporated directly beneath the Flowfresh system.

With or without the antimicrobial incorporation, Flowfresh is non-hazardous to health and the environment plus the long service life and seamless surface reduce the need for repairs, maintenance and cleaning. That said, cleaning is an important factor in the performance of any healthcare facility, including the floor. Flowfresh should be cleaned regularly using a single or double headed rotary scrubber drier in conjunction with a mildly alkaline detergent. And, as we’ve already said, Flowfresh can be installed in a variety of colours and can incorporate navigation signage.

Flooring requirements in the healthcare sector are demanding and, inevitably, selection will be subject to a number of criteria including the extent to which a product meets those demands and the lifetime cost-effectiveness of the installation. With the experience of Flowcrete to back them up and the range of innovative variations to suit any particular application, Flowcrete products, including Flowfresh, can handle any flooring requirement in hospitals and any other healthcare facilities.

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