Quality is in the details in the New Children's Hospital in Helsinki

The new children's hospital in Helsinki started its operations in September 2018, and both the premises and the technology are world class. Each detail has been carefully designed according to its purpose of use.

When you step through the main entrance of the hospital located in Meilahti, Helsinki, a tap by Oras is the first thing that greets you. It is there for cleaning wheelchairs and it reflects the idea of the entire building: each detail has been considered.

Oras has donated all the taps in the hospital. The donation included several hundreds of taps, as just about every room in the premises, which includes 118 patient rooms and 220 reception or rehabilitation facilities, has at least one water point.

"This is a large collaborative project and we wanted to be a part of it. Uponor is another company in the field of Finnish building technology that has provided the project with its competence," says Marko Sundholm, Country Manager of Oras Finland.

Sundholm is impressed by the new hospital.

"This is really fantastic. The selected materials are natural, which makes the building approachable. This is important to children who may be afraid of the sterile environment of a hospital. The hospital is a great reference for us, as it will certainly be well-known around the world."

Hygiene first

As with everything else, also the water fixtures have been selected with great attention to detail. The ideal tap has been selected for each location. Oras has developed portfolios that offer solutions for various premises.

"For example, in premises where the doctors use the taps, hygiene is number one, and in these cases touch-free taps are the right choice. In patient rooms, on the other hand, the nurses must wash their hands and the patients should be able to take water to drink, so hybrid taps have been chosen for these," says Oras' Category Manager Juhani Lempinen, listing some of the choices.

According to research, 80% of microbes spread between humans either by direct touch or indirect contact. In hospital conditions, good hygiene saves human lives. The indirect risk of transmitting microbes can be significantly mitigated near hand washing stations by using touch-free taps.

Exceptional situations will also be prepared for. Illnesses caused by e.g. legionella bacterium are prevented with laminar water flow. In household use, taps often have an aerator that mixes air into the water flow, but laminar flow has no air and thus it does not spray water around. This helps mitigate the risk of spreading microbes with the water to the surrounding areas and air.

Users as product developers

Products by Oras are used in many Nordic hospitals.

"Together with other operators, we have developed international networks through which we have planned products for hospitals. The end users are included in planning and they provide the basis for product development.

In the new children's hospital, model rooms were built in the parking garage, and with their help user needs were comprehensively reviewed. Lempinen sees the hospital projects as an important part of product development.

"In hospitals, we can develop the most advanced parts of our product portfolio: bring electronics and multi-purpose features to taps, which will then gradually also start to be introduced elsewhere," he says.

The surgical hand washing station offers something for everyone: different taps for different preferences.

The surgical hand washing station presents both touchless faucets and more traditional faucets with long lever which can be opened without touch or with an elbow – thus maximizing the hygiene.

Hospital's HVAC supervisor Mika Eloranta from Haahtela Oy gave a tour to Oras sales representative Juhani Karhula and country manager Marko Sundholm

Patient bathroom with Oras Safira 1096F and disinfection proof Bidetta hand shower.

Patient room

Oras Safira 1096F washbasin faucet and disinfection proof Bidetta hand shower.

Oras has over thirty years' experience in producing touchless taps. The taps' surfaces have been designed so that they are easy to keep clean, which also increases the level of hygiene.

Oras Electra touchless wahbasin faucet