Gas springs deliver silent closing pedal bins for critical care units

摘要

SKF's Stabilus dampers are taking the noise out of pedal bin usage on the wards to the benefit of patients and hospital workers alike. SKF has supplied a specially designed oil filled damper for use in a new range of pedal operated bins from Bristol Maid and Hospital Metalcraft. The range combines smooth, silent opening and closing with hygienic features that make them ideal for use in hospital critical care units. David Forrest, design engineer at Bristol Maid, explains the requirement: "We were looking for a solution that allowed pedal bins in hospitals, and critical care environments in particular, to close smoothly and silently, while meeting the exceptional hygiene standards required in such applications. Coma patients often have an extremely heightened sense of hearing and are acutely aware of their surroundings. With pedal bins in intensive care units being used between 60-100 times a day, significant distress can be caused to patients and may slow the recovery process. Likewise, at night in shared wards, when patients are sleeping but doctors and nurses still busy working, the problem of noise from pedal bins also arises. This often results in the bins being moved away from patients, which in turn causes issues with harmful waste being carried across wards, risking contamination and ultimately infection."