Marco’s Elite uPVC trunking with a built in Hygieia antimicrobial protection has been specified by electrical contractor, the Dowds Group, for use throughout the new £110million Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex.
 
The vast new build scheme, one of the largest public sector construction projects within Northern Ireland in recent years, is now complete providing a comprehensive range of services to the public.
 
Dowds Group managed the electrical works across a two and a half year period, specifying and installing a range of quality products and applications to suit the needs of a modern day hospital environment.
 
Marco’s Elite 3 Hygiea, developed specifically for use in environments where the spread of infection must be controlled such as hospitals, care homes, schools and laboratories, utilises silver ion technology, to create a defence against 99.9% of harmful bacteria growth. This provides built-in protection from, and prevents the growth of bacteria, including MRSA, E-Coli, Salmonella, Klebsiella and Streptococcus Pneumoniae; along with fungi, mildew and mould. 
 
Gareth Howes of Marco explained: “The healthcare and wider public sector arena is a huge market for us and we wanted to create a product that would meet the specific needs of this sector. Since its launch some four years ago, the specification has gathered real momentum and we’ve seen it introduced in schemes across the UK and Ireland, the most recent being here at Omagh Hospital.
 
“Dowds were keen to work with a product that could meet their own objectives, installing a quality trunking product that simultaneously protected against the potential threat of disease spreading through a built in compound. This is a huge scheme and the contractor utilised considerable lengths of our Elite combined with Hygiea.”

The antimicrobial compound is incorporated into the uPVC, and is therefore an integral part of the trunking which means there is no degradation of performance, even if the surface becomes scratched or damaged. 

X of the Dowds Group added: “For us the Elite, with a built in defence, is the perfect product. The addition of Hygiea makes this an ideal product for us for us at at this prestigious, large scale health care scheme.”
 
Works began on site for Dowds Group in August 2015. The wider electrical scope of works for the new hospital involved HV & LV switchgear and generator installation, backbone containment, lightning protection, general, external and emergency lighting, mechanical services wiring, UPS/IPS and systems installations including fire/critical alarms, access control / intruder system and staff attack systems.

The 22,900 sq m hospital complex is set on a brownfield site and hosts a range of services under one roof. This new build hospital consists of six blocks housing services including a 40 single en-suite bedrooms unit for rehabilitation and palliative care patients, a 24 place renal dialysis unit, a health and care centre including modern GP practices as well as an urgent care and treatment centre.
 
In addition the centre will also provide advanced diagnostic services including a CT scanner and endoscopy services. There are also three-day surgery operating theatres and 22 recovery beds, specialised AHP, Women’s & Family Health and Children’s Services. The external areas consist of staff and visitor parking, play areas, viewing gardens and a Helipad for emergency services. Such is the scale of the building that it required a purpose-built energy centre, complete with generators and CHP.