With statistics showing the importance of maintaining patient and staff safety in hospitals, Donna Hannaway explores how safety flooring can help.
A RECENT report1 revealed 32% of reported non-fatal workplace injuries were caused by slips, trips and falls on the same level, with around 95% of these resulting in a serious incident involving a broken bone.
Safety is especially paramount in healthcare settings, where staff are performing crucial work and patients need protecting against further harm. However, being busy environments, there can often be the potential for spillages or walked in moisture from heavy footfall, both of which can pose a safety risk to those walking around the building.
When looking for a way to improve staff, patient and visitor safety, it’s important to remember that this can start from the ground up, with an effective flooring scheme forming a key part of a slip and fall prevention system.
For example, many manufacturers offer safety flooring, which contains small crystals, glass particles or raised nodules embedded into the floorcovering. These are what give safety flooring its slip resistance properties, helping to increase the dynamic coefficient of friction (CoF) and grip underfoot.
Safety flooring is then tested against the Pendulum Test for a Pendulum Test Value (PTV) and Ramp Tests for an R rating.
This makes them a great solution for healthcare settings, whether that’s in wet rooms and bathrooms or wider circulation areas where there’s an expectation of spillages and contamination, or higher volume of footfall.
With modern printing and manufacturing developments, safety flooring collections can feature contemporary designs and colours, like stone or wood effects, which can help contribute to the creation of healing interiors – such as Forbo’s refreshed Step safety vinyl. Many colourways in the Step collection are DSDC (Dementia Services Development Centre) accredited, highlighting their viability for use in dementia-inclusive spaces. This can allow your customer to not only meet strict safety requirements, but also promote positive wellbeing through design.
With over 50 years of experience, Forbo’s Step safety vinyl is a trusted name in the market, dedicated to creating healthier indoor environments, with a focus on the safety, hygiene and wellbeing of individuals.
Reflecting this commitment, Forbo’s Step safety flooring is 100% phthalate-free, manufactured in a factory running on 100% renewable electricity, incorporates an average of 24% recycled content and has the lowest embodied carbon for a safety flooring on the market, as well as meeting all HSE and European safety norms.
In addition to this, to cater to busy environments, all Step floorcoverings have a PUR Pearl finish, offering excellent stain, chemical and scratch resistance, making it easier to clean and maintain the floorcovering across its entire service life.
Find out more about Forbo’s Step safety flooring online.
www.forbo-flooring.co.uk/step.
Donna Hannaway is head of marketing UK and Ireland from Forbo Flooring Systems
- https://cairntechnology.com/hospital-slips-trips-and-falls-prevention-and-management-policy-the-role-of-effective-fluid-management/
