Hospitals are filled with temperature sensitive products such as medications, food and blood samples. Not only this, the temperature of patient areas and storage environments require constant attention to certify their safety. If these conditions destabilise due to unforeseen temperature and humidity changes, this could lead to serious health and safety concerns. To ensure hospital temperatures remain under control and that they meet health and safety compliance, an environmental monitoring system is crucial for the day-to-day running of hospitals.

Safeguarding the temperature of wards and patient areas

Hospital environmental monitoring is key to ensuring air temperature and humidity is at a safe level. Wards and other areas such as waiting zones or A&E facilities must be at a comfortable temperature and well-ventilated to improve the livelihood of both patients and staff.

Without an effective environmental monitoring system, temperature or humidity levels could rise above or fall below the required thresholds. Not only would this cause uncomfortable living conditions, it could also have a negative impact on patient health. This is especially important for vulnerable groups such as the elderly whose health could rapidly decline if a room became too hot or humid. Through the deployment of data loggers, staff and facility managers can access real time updates on temperature and humidity conditions, alongside alerts if any fluctuations occur.

Storing patient medication and samples

Whilst it is important to maintain safe air temperature and humidity, hospital temperature monitoring is also needed when storing patient medication and samples (such as blood or urine). If these are exposed to unsafe fridge or freezer storage temperatures, this could cause medications to become ineffective and unsafe for use. Alternatively if a blood sample was stored incorrectly without a freezer temperature monitoring solution in place, it could produce an inconclusive result. This would contribute towards a delay in a potential diagnosis but also inconvenience for the patient and doctor.

Food safety

Many fridges and freezers in hospitals are designed for storage of medical products, however they are just as important for storing food. Patients with certain health conditions or after having surgery will require a very particular or routinely diet. Environmental compliance monitoring not only ensures food is safe to eat and readily available, but also prevents wastage and costs. This is because sensors and data loggers allow staff to keep track of food storage temperatures at all times.

For further information about our environmental monitoring systems for hospitals and medical facilities or to enquire, get in touch with our friendly team at Wessex Power. Call us on 01929 459459 or email sales@wpls.co.uk and we would be happy to assist you.