A variety of automatics at Bath Royal United Hospital

The Royal United Hospital Bath NHS Trust occupies a 52-acre site just outside the City and provides acute treatment and care for a catchment area serving a population of around 500,000 people in Bath itself and the surrounding towns and villages. A new model of care, developed in conjunction with experts from the Modernisation Agency, is being introduced at the hospital and the first phase – aimed at providing faster diagnosis and initial treatment for emergency patients – has opened, with two further phases to be completed by the end of the year. The new, fast turn-around medical assessment unit will provide care for emergency patients when they first arrive at the hospital and will provide rapid access to essential tests and assessment by senior doctors who can decide what treatment is required and whether a patient needs be admitted.

High volumes of staff and visitor traffic represent a major challenge when it comes to providing safe access and emergency egress for a busy hospital environment. Particularly when compliance with Part III of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), which came into force last October, is also high on the priority list. Safe and efficient hospital traffic flow is not the only consideration either, heat conservation can be improved and dust and dirt minimised too with the correct selection of door types for different situations. An enormous range of DORMA products has been specified at Bath Royal United to meet the various criteria.

Prominent Features

A variety of automatics

At the main entrance is a BST curved sliding door system. Automatic curved sliding doors are an ideal solution for creating attractive and efficient entrances. They can be designed as outwardly or inwardly curved semi-circles and segments, as full circle configurations, as oval and double-segment units, or as tailored constructions using any combination of these basics. They perform draught exclusion and airlock functions and give width and depth to entrances even where the available structural dimensions may be considered rather tight.

The South and North wings have passage widths which are a little restricted for space in some areas and RST space-saver doors come into their own here. They are designed so that the door leaves perform a swivel motion, with the result that the clear passage width is not much less than the overall structural width of the doorway. Space-savers can be employed in emergency exit and escape routes as they can be opened like a normal hinged door if required. An ED 200 automatic swing door operator is used on the West wing entrance. It is a powerful, fully automatic, electro-hydraulic swing door operator suitable for standard, large and heavy doors and is also suitable for fire and smoke rated doors. It can also be installed in emergency exits and escape routes provided that it is controlled by an appropriate emergency exit security control system.

In the busy A&E Department, the Princess Anne unit and on general ward duty are eight automatic doors powered by sliding door operators from the ES range. These sophisticated modular drive units are suitable for opening widths up to 4000mm, available in a range of finishes and can be fitted to all types of sliding door, including busy main entrances, emergency exits and escape routes. Being exceptionally reliable and safe in high traffic areas, they are ideal for a demanding hospital environment.

Part-time powered doors for Maternity

The ideal operator for offering increased access and independence to people who would otherwise be restricted by conventional manual swing doors is the ED 800, which is fitted in the maternity unit. The doors can be used manually most of the time, but when assistance is required to open the doors, they can be opened under power – most commonly by means of a wall mounted push pad, which activates the low-energy swing door operator. After use the door reverts to manual mode again.

Smooth operation with cam-action closers

Throughout the complex there are nearly 80 DORMA TS 93 cam-action closers, TS 93’s and their younger sister, the TS 90 Impulse, which has a slightly more compact design. Unlike conventional rack and pinion closers, these units have a linear drive mechanism and a unique heart shaped cam which means that when the door is pushed open the force required falls away very rapidly, allowing smooth and easy access with very little resistance for the user. However, it is engineered so that despite this lack of resistance, the action still retains enough closing power to firmly shut the door after the user has passed through. Perfect for people with disabilities, children, or those weakened by illness.

The door closers are coloured green to match the interior decor of the new unit, and were specified by architectural ironmongers, IRM Bristol Ltd.