Developing a non-disposable privacy curtain, or cubicle screen, has been my passion for over 18 months. So, what motivated me to develop this product?
The concern and distress that the various Governments who espouse ‘jobs, jobs, jobs’ and condemn the use of plastic bags, are demonstrating an incredible hypocrisy!
We hate waste of any kind
800,000 tonnes of textile waste in Australia is sent to landfill annually. And hospital waste, through an obsession with ‘disposable-everything,’ is eye-watering. An entire industry has effectively been shipped offshore, along with thousands of jobs.
With a history of supplying textiles to healthcare facilities, I could no longer sit back and watch this vandalism. Not only is it ecologically destructive, but it is also a financial ‘sink hole’. Hospitals are bleeding money.
NSW Health Minister, Brad Hazzard, was responsive to my request to have the Department reconsider their practice of using disposable, single-use privacy curtains. I was directed to the NSW Director of Procurement who, after consultation, set up a committee to investigate and report on the pros and cons of disposable versus reusable cubicle screens.
Once engaged with the committee I was set on an investigation journey to get a true understanding of what is driving the disposable screen fetish.
We consulted with virtually every level of the hospital hierarchy to gain knowledge with which to formulate a solution. We examined and metaphorically ’road tested’ a module approach to eliminate concerns. And we named it BLOX.
The Government concerns over a non-disposable privacy curtain
OH&S
THE CONCERN: Weight (long textile curtains can be difficult to manage and heavy for the installer)
THE SOLUTION: BLOX is a lightweight, 2m x 2m modular system weighing only 1.1kg per unit.
Antimicrobial Durability
THE CONCERN: Doubt that the popular Silver Ion treatment used on disposables would not withstand the rigours of multiple laundering.
THE SOLUTION: Sourcing a fibre where the Silver Ion antimicrobial is captured IN the polymer of the fibre guaranteeing total lifelong efficacy. Never to wash out!
Longevity
THE CONCERN: Doubts of our claim of 10-to-15-year life expectancy.
THE SOLUTION: We have empirical evidence of our non-disposable privacy curtain serving 20+years, with a 10-year warranty to support this claim.
Laundry Cost
THE CONCERN: Experience with 6 or 7 metre curtains are not well received by laundries as they mainly handle articles of bedding etc.
THE SOLUTION: The 2m x 2m module is well within their ‘norm’.
Inventory Management
THE CONCERN: Not returning privacy curtains to their rightful facility.
THE SOLUTION: This we solved by the addition of a simple care label that will carry the facilities name and can be marked to indicate dates upon which any soiled module been laundered between scheduled maintenance. This simple solution is a great cost saver. Further, in consultation with NSW Healthcare Laundry Manager, we learned of a move toward adopting RFID asset management, which can easily include in the modular screen hem as required.
Logistics
THE CONCERN: Managing different sizes to suit individual ward configurations.
THE SOLUTION: BLOX can be assembled to build whatever size screen is required. One size fits all.
Product Cost
THE CONCERN: The suggestion was made that single-use screens are inexpensive and re-usable.
THE SOLUTION: The healthcare industry has been hoodwinked. Cost is more than money, but even at a monetary level, disposable cubicle screens are more costly than re-usable, locally made, textile screens. We have observed the misleading examples published by the foreign suppliers of disposable screens.
We have developed a simple cost-saving calculator into which you can key in the costs you are incurring with disposables and read over a ten-year life cycle of a non-disposable privacy curtain. Our research shows the life expectancy of disposables, due to soiling and differing clinical needs, 12 months is more like 6–8-month average.
Other BLOX benefits
Sustainability
Sustainability is front and centre with Materialised, and whilst we don’t chant mantras, we consider carefully how lightly we can tread on planet earth. The BLOX modular screen has a 50% recycled PET component. It delivers long active life, low energy washing and drying and can be either recycled or up-cycled. Materialised offers a ‘trade-in’ program to handle the ongoing second life of the product.
Flame Retardancy
In the same way we deal with embedding the antimicrobial, we embed flame inhibitors, giving excellent results, permanently.
Beyond all this, the opportunity to bring back an entire industry of weaving, finishing, fabricating, and maintaining re-usable screens must surely be front of mind, especially for Governments.
BLOX is clean, safe, attractive, sustainable, economical and most of all, Australian!
Take a look, you’ll be surprised how BLOX ticks all the boxes!
