Forté Standard Evacuation System

Any infectious agents introduced into the body can establish infection. In all healthcare settings, reusable medical devices, such as mattresses, should be handled in a manner that will prevent patients, healthcare workers and environmental contact with potentially infectious material. Post COVID-19 pandemic, Cleaning and infection control have become a bigger concern than ever before.

Appropriate reprocessing or precautions must be implemented for reusable equipment, such as the mattress to prevent patient-to-patient transmission of infectious agents.

Principles of reprocessing reusable medical devices include:

• Only Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA)-included reusable medical devices should be used; before purchase, healthcare facilities should ensure that manufacturer’s reprocessing instructions are provided and are able to be followed by the healthcare facility.
• All reusable medical devices and patient-care equipment used in the clinical environment must be reprocessed according to their intended use and manufacturer’s advice.

However, Other standard precautions must take place. Standard precautions are basic infection prevention and control strategies that apply to everyone, regardless of their perceived or confirmed infectious status. Strategies include hand hygiene, personal protective equipment, cleaning, and appropriate handling and disposal of sharps. These are the first-line approach to infection prevention and control in health service organisations and are routinely applied as an essential strategy for minimising the spread of infections. Standard precautions minimise the risk of transmission of infectious agents from one person or place to another, even in high-risk situations, and render and maintain objects and areas as free as possible from infectious agents

Specifically, in relation to the support surface, there should be no exposed materials that will absorb fluid. As such, every mattress cover and/or mattress accessory in the facility environment must have high frequency welded seams (as opposed to sewn) to meet infection control requirements and prevent seepage of fluid through open sewn seams. These electromagnetically fused seams protect against the risk of penetration fluid as they 100% seal off to prevent ingress of fluid or infection. To ensure extra strength, Forté reinforces welded seams with additional heavy duty stitching at stress points within the cover.

In addition, Forté mattress covers and foam cores are treated with anti-microbial treatment to prevent the growth of mould and bacteria on soft surfaces. It is a recommendation that soft surfaces must be impregnated with antimicrobial (self-disinfecting) materials.

All Forté products are included and registered onto the Australian Register of Therapeutic Goods (ARTG). Unless exempt, reusable medical devices must be ‘included’ onto the ARTG before they may be supplied in Australia.

Forté mattresses can withstand stringent infection control procedures and have been designed to suit facility standards so you can have peace of mind that all areas of your facility are a safe, clean environments for staff and patients.

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BS5852 is a British Standard that describes methods for assessing the ignitability of single material combinations, e.g. cover and foam core of a mattress, when subjected either to a smouldering cigarette or to flaming ignition sources of thermal output ranging from that of a burning match to that approximating to the burning of four double sheets of full-size newspaper, as might be applied accidentally to any item of furniture.

Source five is one out of seven ignition sources of the BS5852;

What is BS 7175 ignition source 5 Specification?

Methods of test for the ignitability of bedcovers and pillows by smouldering and flaming ignition sources. BS 7175 describes methods of test for the ignitability of bedcovers and pillows when subjected to smouldering and flaming types of ignition sources of differing severities.

Source five uses a wood crib 5. A crib is composed of wooden planks glued together. Lint is attached to the bottom. After adding propane-diol, the crib is placed on the test rig and ignited with a match. If no flaming or progressive smouldering is observed on both cover and foam core, the test is recorded as no ignition and the material passes the test.

Any evacuation system should be fire retardant.

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