Hello and welcome once again to Cooling India.

HVAC systems play a critical role in maintaining temperature and humidity in hospitals, which is especially important in operating rooms and other clean rooms. Also, healthcare facilities that are not properly ventilated, designed or controlled can lead to the spread of airborne pathogens throughout the facility. Therefore, HVAC systems deliver a safer environment for patients, staff and visitors in health care facilities by maintaining Indoor Air Quality (IAQ).

Today, IAQ has become a significant issue in any hospital setting. The prerequisite for any healthcare facility is to provide and ensure a good IAQ to safeguard patients, nursing staff and visitors from the hazards of occupational diseases and nosocomial or hospital-acquired infections (HAI). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at any given time over 1.4 million people across the globe suffer from a nosocomial or HAI and about 80,000 deaths a year. As per a study by International Society of the Built Environment (2008) on indoor and outdoor air quality in hospitals, it was estimated that bacterial counts in ICUs, orthopedic wards, neonatal wards, dialysis wards and post-operative wards were found to be beyond the recommended levels.

GBS Sodhi, Director & Country Head India, Evergen Systems India reminds us why it is important for a healthcare facility to understand the wellbeing of its patients and workers and safeguarding their health whereas experts from Indian Pollution Control Association examines the factors effecting IAQ in hospital setting and methods to ensure acceptable IAQ in hospitals.

While investment in HVAC has always been a top priority in healthcare, major outbreaks not too long ago – including MERS, Zika and Ebola – have cast a spotlight on the industry’s susceptibility to crises, and the need to improve facilities. Prasun Talukdar, Director – Key Verticals and Strategic Projects, Johnson Controls explains the need of a unified, central design as far as HVAC systems are concerned.

We hope you’ll enjoy reading this issue as always! Please write to me at pravita@charypublications.in.


Pravita Iyer
Publisher & Director

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