The Queen Elizabeth Hospital

The Queen Elizabeth Hospital is in Woolwich in the Royal Borough of Greenwich.

It was opened in March 2001, serving patients from the Royal Borough of Greenwich and the London Borough of Bexley.

The hospital was built to accommodate the services previously provided at Greenwich District Hospital and Brook General Hospital. It is a private finance initiative hospital managed by the Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust.

VINCI Facilities works closely with Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It is an FM and building solutions business within VINCI Construction in the UK, part of VINCI SA, a world leader in concessions and construction.

The Challenge

VINCI needed to review the condition of 32 ageing medical pulp macerators at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. It had worked with DDC Dolphin for a number of years, providing a range of sluice room infection control solutions to hospitals around the UK.

The macerators were not DDC Dolphin machines. They had been supplied by another manufacturer and were reaching the end of their operational lifespan.

Machine reliability had become a serious issue; some macerators were nearing obsolescence. As a result, spare parts were taking a long time to arrive – it was a recurring problem.

VINCI identified this issue as a potential risk to agreed service levels – one that could result in penalties from the NHS if the situation were allowed to continue and worsen.

So, VINCI called on DDC Dolphin’s specialist expertise.

The Solution

DDC Dolphin carried out a full audit of all 32 medical pulp macerators at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital – detailing their condition and when they would need replacement.

This comprehensive report provided VINCI with the evidence it needed to provide recommendations to the NHS trust.

Initially, it was determined that five of the old machines should be replaced immediately with new DDC Dolphin Pulpmatic Ultima medical pulp macerators.

The Ultima – as the name suggests – is DDC Dolphin’s biggest and best medical pulp macerator. It is ideal for busy hospital wards and care homes. 

Based on DDC Dolphin’s full asset survey and recommendations, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital opted for a phased replacement programme.

The old macerators were replaced two at a time. Finally, just seven of the old machines were left: five were replaced, then so were the remaining two.

The Queen Elizabeth now has 32 new reliable Pulpmatic Ultima macerators that perform far better than their ageing predecessors. Reliability levels have improved immeasurably. 

VINCI also benefits from the machines’ superior reliability. It makes the Queen Elizabeth Hospital FM contract easier to manage – especially with all the detailed sluice room estate information available 24/7 on DDC Dolphin’s secure online portal.

Furthermore, the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and VINCI are enjoying the peace of mind that comes with a planned preventative maintenance (PPM) programme that ensures all the macerators are serviced correctly for optimum reliability.

The Outcome

“The support I got from Senior Account Manager Dez McCullagh was exceptional. He was extremely helpful and ensured this was a quick turnover from start to finish.

"Dez was easily contactable and always reached out to check on us and to see if he could help in any way. I was contacted during every step of the process. I found this extremely professional and cooperative.

"The impact has been extremely positive – freeing up time for me so I can turn my attention to other areas of improvement. I would definitely recommend DDC Dolphin to other companies. We look forward to working together on other exciting projects in the future.

"Dez has been an exceptional point of contact and we here at VINCI would like to say, ‘Thank you’.” 

Siân Faulkner – Assistant Manager – VINCI Facilities

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