Ceramic to combat germs

Washing your hands helps – antibacterial tiles help, too: health facilities should rely more on the use of intelligent ceramic surfaces for operating theatres, patients' rooms, bathrooms and canteens. Hytect-coated tiles are effective against bacteria, fungi, germs and odours. Not to mention being easy to clean.

There are only three ways for hospitals to make the front pages of the newspapers. Either because they are about to be sold, medical errors have been leaked or because they have a problem with multi-resistant germs. Kiel, Hamburg-Eppendorf, Mannheim: for such hospitals, the discovery of an outbreak is obviously a catastrophe. Human lives are at risk and the hospital's good reputation is in jeopardy. Some facilities such as Hamburg University Hospital, for example, are therefore involved in the national “Clean Hands” campaign. “Although most health employees are aware of the extraordinary importance of this elementary hygiene measure, practical implementation thereof is often insufficient”, concedes the hospital Web site. For some time now, the media have reacted with alarm and are even getting involved in the debate about improved hospital hygiene. An author writing for the Süddeutsche Zeitung (3.12.2014, “Weniger Tote, weniger Kosten” – Fewer lives lost, lower costs), for example, proposes a range of measures for preventing the spread of dangerous germs in hospitals:

1. More nurses and carers,
2. fewer antibiotics,
3. infection reports for all hospitals,
4. disinfection measures throughout the hospital and
5. more fresh air.

Hospitals and their employees certainly have a direct influence on some factors but not all of them.

High-tech tiles for keeping germs at bay

But the scientific journalist has forgotten one supporting measure: the use of innovative building materials which are suitable especially for hospitals, doctors’ surgeries, rehabilitation and nursing facilities – as offered by Agrob Buchtal, for example. “Each action in health facilities can be a decisive factor in terms of illness or recovery. Apart from highly-concentrated tasks, hygiene, the appropriate architecture and functional materials for floors and walls are required”, claims Thomas Jedinger, Managing Director at the international architectural agency Maurer und Partner ZT GmbH in Hollabrunn, Austria.

A special product enjoying increasing popularity in the healthcare sector is represented by tiles featuring the so-called Hytect coating. Wall and floor surfaces featuring such tiles have an antibacterial and air-cleaning effect, and therefore make a small but valuable contribution towards preventing the spread of pathogens in health facilities. “In new medical buildings and refurbishment projects, the antibacterial effect in particular is a major issue”, according to Daniel Schreiner, Director Product Development at Deutsche Steinzeug Solar Ceramics GmbH, the Agrob Buchtal parent company and largest manufacturer of ceramic tiles in the German-speaking region with almost 15 years of experience in surface finishes of this type. This effect is achieved on the principle of photocatalysis, whereby oxygen is activated by light which then decomposes germs, fungi, moss and bacteria, preventing the development of new pathogens. Ideal therefore for operating rooms, patients' rooms, intensive care and nursing wards, but also for examination rooms, hospital canteens and laboratories.

One section of this tile range even has a laser-diffusing effect preventing laser rays from being reflected onto walls. A product feature which has been developed for operating rooms in particular. “What's fascinating is that the antibacterial effect does not diminish as is the case with conventional methods, but is constantly re-established”, explains Daniel Schreiner. Hytect makes tile surfaces hydrophilic and therefore extremely easy to clean. “Water is not repelled by the surface but spreads across the tile like a fine film. Dirt is then infiltrated and can be easily removed”, adds Schreiner.

Maintenance-free facades

And there is something else that many people might not know: ceramic tiles also cut a good figure when used on facades. Many architects and planning companies at home and abroad have convinced themselves of the advantages of this material in exterior healthcare projects. And this is not only for comprehensive or aesthetic reasons although they are immediately obvious, e.g. the facade design of Finchley Memorial Hospital in London. The distinctive greenblue ceramic facade has become the hospital's trademark. But there are other advantages, too: facades featuring Hytect-coated tiles are maintenance-free which means that they are gentler on resources than other surfaces during the operating phase. In brief: no cleaning costs are incurred. And this is obviously a very useful side effect for hospitals, not to mention the convincing design.

Investors like “green hospitals”

But reforms in the healthcare system are also ensuring an increased demand for efficient building materials and, to a certain degree, these demands play into the hands of the supplier with its headquarters near Bonn. Public authorities are increasingly withdrawing from the healthcare sector, thereby leaving the field open for private operators such as public limited companies and specialised investment companies. And they often implement modernisation measures, expansions and new buildings faster than buildings under public control which are often in deficit. “This is also a result of the international pressure on demand. We see how international institutional buyers are increasingly determined to invest in hospital and rehabilitation facilities. And it goes without saying that these professional investors are particularly interested in buildings availing of modern equipment”, explains Dr Bernhard Köhler, CEO at the Swiss real estate consulting agency, Swisslake AG. But the backlog in modernisation is still huge in many places.

Alliances for environmentally-friendly clinics

It is no wonder therefore that more and more hospital operators are entering alliances with suppliers of environmentallyfriendly building materials, innovative lighting and IT solutions, and facility management service-providers, project managers and designers aligned towards sustainability. The idea behind these “Green Hospital” initiatives: more efficient construction and operation of healthcare property as well as reducing factors which impede recovery aim to improve the ecological performance of buildings while increasing productivity.

Agrob Buchtal is also one of the 20 national and international Green Hospital project partners collaborating with the renowned hospital management company, Asklepios. The first major joint project carried out by these partners – the “patient room of the future” – is being established in the St. Wolfgang Asklepios Clinic in Bad Griesbach, Bavaria. As for a classic show house, everything is to be fitted in the gutted room which is forward-looking in terms of technology, hygiene, lighting and design. The patient's bed is supplied by Wissner & Bosserhoff, lighting by Philipps and Agrob Buchtal contributes floor and wall tiles from the “Twin” Hytect series for the patient’s bathroom. Unlike a show house, however, this hospital room is subjected to practical tests. “The experience and criticisms voiced by patients in this room are evaluated in order to support the project partners involved in improving their products”, asserts Marian Winhold, Area Manager responsible for architectural ceramics at Agrob Buchtal and contact person for the project. This architectural consultant is very excited about the feedback on his tiles.