Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI) are a growing problem. More and more patients who receive care in a hospital are becoming ill because of an infection they contract in that hospital. So they get sicker than they already were. Many of these infections are preventable. According to WHO reports, next to (the lack of good) hand hygiene, are the bed and mattress part of the second most important reason that bacteria are transmitted and patients get an infection.
Patients deserve the best care in the safest environment. And care providers also want to provide the best care. In order to be able to continue to guarantee this in the future, preconditions are needed so that this is possible. If this is not done, there will be a further increase in the number of patients who will become ill and may even die. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control estimate that on any given day, about 80,000 people across Europe contract at least one HAI. The World Health Organization states every year 37,000 people in Europe die (99,000 in the USA) as a result of an infection contracted in a hospital. Annual financial losses are estimated at ~€7 billion in Europe, reflecting 16 million extra days of hospital stay and $6.5 billion in the USA.
The COVID-19 pandemic claimed millions of lives and changed the ways in which we live, work and travel. A positive effect is that it has really become clear that good hygiene is of vital importance. It is too early to substantiate, but we trust that infection prevention and control will become an even more important topic on the agenda of hospitals. And that hospitals will not miss an opportunity to further minimize the risk of infections.
Our goal is to make a substantial contribution to creating that safe environment in which the best care can be provided. Patients should receive their care in the best bed that is cleaned and disinfected to the highest standard. We do this with the VDS (Validated Disinfection System). We use the VDS to clean and disinfect all types of beds and mattresses that are used in hospitals in a validated manner.
By utilizing robots and steam, we are able to kill micro-organisms by applying surface disinfection from 3 centimetres away. The steam has a contact temperature of no less than 85 degrees Celsius.
By this, we fight against passing HAI's via the bed and mattress. By using steam we ensure that all type of beds, even the most advanced beds equipped with electronics can be processed in the VDS. As the VDS follows the same cleaning program every time, the results can be reproduced and validated.
As the efficient cleaning process uses steam for thermal disinfection rather than chemicals we are able to operate at a much lower carbon footprint. Consumption of both energy and water is up to 80% lower than traditional solutions. On top the VDS is the only bed washing system in the world that does not use any chemical cleaning agents.
