Flooring
The floor is a prime area of concern for medical facilities, as contaminants can easily move around underfoot and gravity means that most dirt, grime and bacteria will inevitably end up on the floor. Getting the finish right is therefore essential for sites eager to maintain the highest standards of cleanliness.
The key criteria for floors in such an environment is that they facilitate a fast and effective cleaning regime by being seamless, smooth and impervious. The floor needs to maintain these properties despite challenges such as constant traffic from staff, patients and wheeled equipment, spillages of liquids and potentially corrosive substances, frequent cleaning and physical impacts. If the floor fails then it will become difficult to clean, with the potential for germs to accumulate within unwanted cracks.
Flooring systems for healthcare facilities must ensure that a finish is available which will support the myriad types of activity in the sector, whether its within a hospital ward room, surgery, pharmacy, reception area, laboratory or the back of house and maintenance areas.
Options include hard wearing yet decorative epoxy finishes, fast curing systems that drastically reduce the application time and robust polyurethanes. Additional benefits can even be incorporated within the floor, such as anti-slip aggregates, ESD properties, navigational signage, aesthetically pleasing visuals, efficient, space saving underfloor heating, and antimicrobial additives that can target bacteria that comes into contact with the floor.
