A hospital floor has to survive two things at once: an infection control regime that involves being washed rather than cleaned, and a building that never closes. Neither can be negotiated, and between them they rule out most of what would otherwise be specified.
What the flooring has to cope with
Impermeability comes first. Seams are welded and skirtings coved with a capping seal, so there is no open junction anywhere for fluid to get behind. HBN 00-10 Part A is the reference point for what a healthcare floor is expected to do.
Then wheeled loading. Beds, trolleys and equipment carts are heavier and less forgiving than foot traffic, and they punish a substrate that was flat enough for anything else.
Working on a live site
- Areas taken ward by ward or bay by bay, never a whole floor plate
- Programmes built around clinical activity rather than the other way round
- Dust screening and negative pressure where required by the infection control team
- Low odour systems where beds are occupied on the far side of the hoarding
- Handback times confirmed before the shift starts, not estimated after it
