The newly refurbished Pre-natal assessment ward was re-opened in April at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) in Newcastle, thus bringing the ward design firmly into the 21st century, according to the trust.The ward, containing 31 beds, is lit by Fagerhult's Aluflex trunking system which incorporates the lighting with fully integrated medical gases, power and low voltage systems. Surrounding corridors are lit by Fagerhult's Sektor T5 luminaires.
1860 Lighting Consultants, a subsidiary of Apex Electrical Solutions Ltd, was employed by the NHS Estates Team to design the lighting scheme. The brief asked for the lighting to be incorporated into a trunking system and was very much a radical change for the hospital; a move away from a conventional lighting system located in the ceiling.
The lighting design was carried out in accordance with the CIBSE LG2 Hospital design guide and these requirements were met whilst also providing a cost saving by incorporating the lighting within the trunking system. Other benefits included the examination light doubling up as a reading light for the patient and personal control of the lighting via the patient/nurse call handset.
User control of the lighting also extends to the corridor areas, where Fagerhult Sektor 35w luminaires are mounted continuously, to uplight the white ceilings. This provides a crisp brightly lit environment which is controlled by the nursing staff via the use of a simple retractive switch for dimming. The corridor lighting also offers a night light system, with every second luminaire wired to a different switch circuit.
Mark Swinburne from Apex Electrical Solutions was impressed with the energy saving feature of the Fagerhult system and specified 1x54w T5 luminaires to light the bed areas, thus providing the trust with a significant energy saving over the original scheme proposal.
David Pearson and Neil Atkinson from the NHS Estates Projects Team at RVI looked at several lighting systems before going ahead with Fagerhult and are very pleased with the result. According to Neil, the quality and design of the lighting contributes significantly to the modernization of the whole environment.
A fitting testimonial to the project is provided by the staff who work there. Neil concludes, "We had a fabulous response from the Sister of the unit, who worked closely on the project. She's very proud of her unit".
