Healthcare

The drainage specialist for healthcare

For any healthcare facility — hospitals, residential homes and surgeries — a drain blockage is not only inconvenient, it can seriously compromise patient care. That’s why putting your drainage system in professional hands is the best move.

A specialist company that will handle any emergency with the minimum of disruption, anytime of the day or night, is a must. As is one able to provide all other drainage services too — from asset surveys to regular maintenance visits, along with a full range of remedial solutions, advice and consultancy. Like the team here at UKDN Waterflow (LG).

Our clients include

  • NHS and private hospitals
  • Surgeries and clinics
  • Mental health facilities
  • Care homes

The standards you expect

At UKDN Waterflow (LG), we know how important it is to meet the exacting standards set by our clients in every walk of the healthcare sector. Rest assured. We are Constructionline certified. That means we are pre-qualified to be your supplier, having already undergone rigorous assessment by an independent organisation. Check here (https://www.constructionline.co.uk/) for more information.

What can we do for you?

We will locate, diagnose and take care of your wastewater issues, keeping your drainage and wastewater assets healthy. Our prompt and effective service, which includes emergency response where needed, will deal with foul and surface water drain blockages, minimising flood risk and the associated disruption to your operations.

Our specialist services include:

  • CCTV survey and inspection
  • Unblocking and cleaning
  • Management and maintenance
  • Renovation and repair of drains and sewers
  • Major and minor civil engineering works
  • Drainage asset mapping and data management
  • Non-drainage infrastructure works

All UKDN engineers follow a strict code of conduct for healthcare drainage works within hospital and surgery facilities, paying close attention to clean room standards, noise and waste management and visual impact.

Drainage is, of course, one of the key means by which waste is removed from any building, but there is always a risk that prohibited items — paper towels, nappies, wipes, feminine hygiene products and food wrappers — will find their way into the drainage system. This can create problems even in robust and well-maintained drainage systems, and issues such as a slight collapse, misalignment of pipes or tree root ingress may give rise to serious blockages.

In a healthcare environment where patients or residents may be ill, infirm, elderly or fragile, a badly functioning drainage system could pose a serious risk to health. The containment of pathogens so that infectious substances are not passed from one part of the facility to another should be a priority, bearing in mind that a single drainage system generally links all parts of a facility. Where a blockage causes drains to back up and overflow, water seals designed to prevent transfer of harmful substances may be broken.

Make a plan

The key is to be prepared, preferably with a belt and braces approach. Firstly, commission a full condition survey of the drainage system to highlight any areas for concern and carry out remedial work to address them. Secondly, put a sound reactive procedure in place so that if blockages do occur, they are managed quickly and with minimal upset to people or services.

Choose expertise and resources

A framework agreement with UKDN Waterflow (LG) gives the geographical coverage and breadth of expertise to cover every drainage eventuality. It provides agreed emergency response time targets to keep impact and risk to patients to a minimum.

We comply with Water Research Centre’s (WRc) Drainage Repair Book which defines the Association of British Insurer’s (ABI) best practice for drainage investigation and repair. Only work that is necessary is carried out. And we are versed in advanced mapping and auditing processes that are essential to understanding the dynamics of a drainage system.

Examples of our work

Estate of emergency
A burst water main supplying Hammersmith teaching hospital in London resulted in the loss of water pressure and threatened disruption to operations. UKDN Waterflow engineers quickly arranged for a temporary supply to be fed into the building, whilst they traced the leak, repaired the pipe and installed a new hydrant.

Anthony McNamara, estates plumbing supervisor at Imperial College NHS Trust, said: “The critical importance of patient care means that being able to deploy a highly capable repair crew at very short notice is not a luxury but a vital fail-safe.”

Soil stack sorted
UKDN was asked to investigate a waste stack in a five-storey London hospital which became blocked repeatedly. The team made an access point on the roof for a survey camera which quickly revealed a build up of fat and hard scale in the pipe. Using a mechanical boring device, instead of high pressure water jetting, engineers restored full flow capacity to the stack without having to block off any toilet connections. Job done.

Contact UKDN, the healthcare drainage specialist

You can rely on UKDN Waterflow (LG) to provide a fast, professional and sensitive drainage service in any healthcare setting. Call 0333 344 2937 for more information, or fill in the contact form.