Which floor covering is best for hospitals?

The choice you make for the flooring in a hospital environment is vitally important and there's no room for mistakes. If you’re wondering how to choose the best floor, carry on reading below!

Expertise

Hospital flooring: a crucial choice

Hospital flooring is more important than ever, as it helps to prevent the spread of bacteria and viruses. Hospitals are high-risk facilities, where patients with failing immune systems make them vulnerable. Every year, several thousands of patients die from hospital-acquired infections!

Against this backdrop, the flooring used in hospitals plays a direct part in creating a healthy, clean, sustainable environment and to ensure maximum patient safety. Some patients’ lives depend on it and this should not be minimised.

Multiple criteria to comply with

The regulations governing the choice of hospital flooring are very strict and endeavour to establish a framework in which the risks of infection are as low as possible.

Easy to clean

To be compliant, hospital flooring must ensure flawless hygiene: it is therefore strongly recommended that you choose a flooring that is easy to clean everyday.

Resistance to chemicals

More specifically, flooring materials must be smooth and even. They must also be washable, rot-proof and inert. Hospital floor coverings must also be resistant to chemicals.

Impact and wear resistance

As hospital floors are subject to repeated use, they must meet the specific needs of this type of facility. For example, they need to be resistant to impact and wear, and be able to withstand maintenance operations specific to hospitals without their quality deteriorating.

What is the healthiest floor covering for a hospital?

To comply with current regulations, many hospitals choose vinyl flooring because it is ideally suited to the multiple requirements of this type of facility!

Vinyl flooring is significantly easier to maintain than other types of flooring. It is perfectly resistant to corrosive cleaning but does not require the use of chemicals to be properly washed, nor does it need to be varnished or sealed over time.

Some ranges are designed exclusively for hospital areas and have excellent anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. They have undergone a number of cutting-edge treatments at the design stage, giving them stain resistant properties. Hospital floors are regularly stained with eosin or Betadine, so this special treatment is a real advantage.

The flooring ranges for hospitals are also designed to withstand repeated use and heavy loads, making them extremely durable in the face of intensive use of zimmer frames or stretchers.

Highly versatile, PVC/vinyl flooring is available in many ranges to suit different types of hospital functions and their specific needs: bedrooms, sterilisation units, intensive care units, etc. Dozens of ranges are available to suit every need! These include the Taradouche floor & wall range designed exclusively for hospital and nursing home showers, guaranteeing maximum safety and comfort for users.

Vinyl hospital flooring can also be used to display signage on the floor and indicate social distancing.

What other types of hospital flooring can be installed?

Although it is possible to install other floor coverings, rubber for instance, no other solution can really compete with the countless advantages of PVC in a hospital environment.

Easy installation

As well as being easy to maintain and extremely durable, PVC flooring is also easy to install. Installation can be carried out in busy environments without causing any disruption. It also combines staff and patient safety thanks to its anti-slip properties,and its smooth surface allows staff to move around with ease.

Unlimited designs and colours

From an aesthetic point of view, PVC flooring has even more qualities, because it comes in an unlimited number of designs and colourswhich can also be matched with wall coverings. Sodepending on the type of area that needs to be equipped, you can choose a neutral vinyl floor for a corridor or operating theatre and a far more creative and colourful design for paediatric wards!

Acoustic comfort

Last but not least, vinyl flooring is acoustically comfortable, which is no mean feat in a noisy environment like a hospital!

How much does hospital flooring cost?

The answer to this question obviously depends on the type of flooring you choose, but some solutions are very reasonably priced.

As well as its many technical advantages, PVC flooring is very affordable compared with other materials and its value for money is absolutely unbeatable!

Optimised comfort for patients and care staff

Gerflor has been a specialist in hospital equipment for over 70 years, has the expertise you need to improve the day-to-day lives of hospital carers, and offers many ranges to meet the needs of all hospital staff.

By opting for PVC flooring, staff mobility and maintenance of the premises have been fabulously simplified, and patients are cared for in a perfectly safe and hygienic environment.

Whether you're looking for flooring for a hospital, a care home, a nursing home or a facility for people with disabilities, vinyl flooring is the ideal solution in every respect!

Royal Inland Hospital

Take a look at the Royal Inland Hospital in Kamloops, BC, which Gerflor has renovated in 4 phases to ensure optimum comfort and safety for all its staff and patients.

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