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Queen Elizabeth Hospital Barbados

27 March 2017 | Fluid Conditioning Services Ltd

Queen Elizabeth Hospital Barbados

Environmental Treatment Concepts Ltd (ETC) has recently completed a project that has taken them a long way from their head office in Fareham, Hampshire.

John Thompson, Managing Director of ETC, took his specialist team to Barbados in order to install electronic water treatment units in the island’s only hospital.

Located in the island’s capital city, Bridgetown, the hospital’s hot water systems have constantly suffered from the build up of limescale as a result of the area’s exceptionally hard water. This reduced the equipment’s efficiency, increased the risk of it breaking down and required maintenance that involved a great deal of time and money.

Applications of hot water at the hospital include a steam generator that sterilises medical equipment and autoclaves, which wash and sterilise surgical instruments used in the operating theatres at a temperature of 130°C.

In March last year, ETC received an enquiry through their website for their environmentally friendly solution to limescale build-up, the ENiGMA. The Hospital Engineer, UK trained David Green, was so impressed with the company’s success solving problems in St Thomas’ Hospital in London that he decided to go ahead with a number of applications. A small team flew out to Barbados to fit 8 units a month later.

In a very short time David Green knew the technology was effective on the local hard water. His mechanic maintained the autoclaves used to have to acid clean their elements every 6 weeks, yet after 5 months he inspected them out of curiosity and they were found to be still quite clean.

ETC have just returned from their second visit to the island, having installed a further eight units and the hospital engineer is now keen to become ETC’s agent in the West Indies.

“With the island’s water as it is, there are many industries that can benefit from the reduction of limescale in their water supply,” says John. “We have had interest from the island’s dairies, sugar cane processing, breweries, distilleries and ice makers. An ice cream manufacturer is expected to place an order soon for treating and protecting a refrigeration cooling system.”