Latest news from Panaz Healthcare, global manufacturer and supplier of flame retardant contract fabrics.
Corinne Godding, Head of Estates & Facilities explains why she chose Panaz fabrics. We were looking for a range of fabrics that was suitable for the hospice environment – not only meeting the needs of our patients but giving us a choice of style, colour and design.
Having to source all new soft furnishing for a new £2.8 million hospice, which was opened by HRH The Prince of Wales on 22 December 2008, was a daunting task. The purpose built eco-complex allows the charity to care for up to 100 patients a week. The Hospice helps anyone over the age of 18 years that has been diagnosed with a potentially life-threatening illness. What I really liked about Panaz was that they were able to offer a wide range of fabrics suitable for all areas of the hospice, this gave me a palate of colours, patterns and styles to work from when designing the interior of each room. The service we received was first class – everything arrived on time and judging by the favourable comments we have received from our patients and visitors the finished effect is a great success.
The re-development of Queen Alexandra Hospital, Portsmouth was a tremendous opportunity for Panaz Healthcare Division to work with the Trust, the Architects and Carillion Health in the provision of a unique drapery design for cubicles, windows and showers.
Taking a brief from BDP (Winchester), the Panaz design studio developed the theme for an exclusive cubicle drapery panel to feature throughout the hospital. The vision was to reflect the essence of Portsmouth in a collage of lively images. The result was a rainbow of vibrant colours with playful picture book impressions of the seaside with sealife, beach huts, sailing boats, kites, sand and sunshine. In situ, as illustrated, the draperies are lively, welcoming and friendly and mitigate the austere environment which can be created by medical equipment and white coats. Over the past two decades, HCAI (Healthcare Acquired Infection) has presented a significant challenge. The impact on such infections on patient safety and wellbeing and the distress to both patients and their families is compounded by the financial cost to the NHS in terms of service delivery. Of course, these costs are not isolated to the hospital alone but to the extended network of healthcare services with prolonged inpatient stay, further treatments, outpatient consultations and subsequent visits to GPs and community care. It is a disturbing statistic that approximately 5,000 people die each year from HCAI. The routes to infection are multiple and diverse and it is difficult to quantify the role of the environment in the transfer of infection. Some report that 19 percent of contamination may be attributable to the environment, others as much as 40 percent. The greatest risk for patients is contamination in the immediate vicinity of the patient such as bed rails, lockers, infusion pumps, draperies, etc. Ever mindful of the challenges presented by HCAI, Panaz work to provide innovative product to the healthcare market and have recently launched Shield Plus. This drapery fabric is the latest addition to the Panaz anti-microbial armoury. It is a high quality, 100% flame retardant polyester fabric protected by Maedical TM, a unique, non-leaching and non-silver antimicrobial which has been proved effective against the broadest spectrum of bacteria and is resilient to the harshest laundry protocols whilst remaining bonded and durable for the life of the fabric. Exclusive to Panaz, Maedical TM has been tested and approved for effectiveness by the Pasteur Institute under a EU funded programme, FLEXIFUNBAR contract no. 505864 IP-SME-FP6/nnFor further information relating to Shield Plus please contact Panaz on 01282 696969 or email kirsty.moniz@panaz.co.uk.
Good news, Panaz upholstery fabrics can be effectively and quickly cleaned by using the new generation of microfibre cleaning cloths and water alone.
Microfibre Cleaning Cloths
Most upholsterers know that when cleaning upholstery fabric it is essential to remove all soap residues as these impede the performance of the stain repellent and, long term, perpetuate the need for further scrubbing and cleaning.
The good news is that Panaz upholstery fabrics can be effectively and quickly cleaned by using the new generation of microfibre cleaning cloths and water alone.
Panaz recently commissioned tests on Panvelle and Panatex comparing the performance of soap and water with standard clothes with microfibre cloths and water alone. The performance of the latter was remarkable and we recommend their use, without soap, to effectively clean and care for our upholstery fabrics on chairs and sofas. If a more heavy duty cleaning regime is required, then use the cloths with soap for exceptional cleaning. Please do note however, as previously stated, that soap residues must be removed.
Warehouse Administrator 
