Building the new hospital on the site of the existing King Edward VII Memorial Hospital calls for more than engineering and construction expertise. Managers carrying out this work also need to be aware of infection control.It makes sense. Hospitals work hard at maintaining as sterile an environment as possible. This is because most of the patients in a hospital have weakened or suppressed immune systems. Exposure to germs puts them at a higher risk of infection than the average healthy person.But keeping areas germ-free during construction seems impossible. Whether demolishing a structure or building one, dust is a feature. And it’s a simple thing like dust that can compromise the already fragile health of hospital patients.“The World Health Organization said 1.4 million people suffer infections they got while in hospital each year,” said Gordon Burrill, an engineer and chairman of the Canadian Standards Association’s Technical Sub-Committee for Infection Control during Construction or Renovations of Health Care Facilities.According to Mr Burrill, about 5,000 people die in hospitals in the USA every year as a result of infections they contracted due to health facility renovations.He said containing the dust of a construction site is one of the best ways of minimising the possibility of spreading germs and therefore disease. He said it’s imperative that construction managers and supervisors understand how infections can be spread and how their spread can be controlled.The Bermuda Hospitals Board brought Mr Burrill to the Island last month to provide training for construction personnel. It was his fourth trip to the Island to do this.“It’s important for supervisors and foremen to understand the potential impact construction can have on patients. Mainly the transmission of fungal spores or development of bacterial growth,” said Mr Burrill in an interview with Body & Soul.Professional industrial negative air machines are the main method used to minimise the spread of dust and its constituent germs, he said.The negative air machines are like giant vacuum cleaners that filter the air. They contain HEPA filters which are high-efficiency filters capable of trapping tiny fungal spores.“What they are catching is safe for healthy people. These are microbes that are omnipresent in the air but present special risks for immune-compromised and immune-suppressed patients,” said Mr Burrill.While the machines vary in size, typically they are large and extremely powerful.“They can clean about 2000 cubic feet of air per minute. That means in an average room 10 x 10 x 10 all the air would be changed twice every minute,” he said.Plastic wall barriers, special mats and vacuums with HEPA filters are also necessary at hospital construction and renovation sites.At KEMH, each construction and-or renovation project is assessed individually. Its risk to the health of patients is assessed and a construction plan is then created. This may include safety measures like construction workers wearing disposable coveralls, or they may be asked to use a less than convenient route in order to stay away from high-risk patients.“Each project is evaluated and assessed by [KEMH’s] Infection Control Department,” said Mr Burrill. “The Infection Control Department has to be vigilant. They work hard and it’s common to see them on the sites here every day.”KEMH have made Mr Burrill’s course a requirement for any construction company that wants to work on any of its construction, renovation and maintenance projects.All KEMH Infection Control staff received his training and have been certified.To date 144 people have attended the course 34 BHB staff and 110 external professionals.A spokesperson at KEMH said while no date has been set for the next course, it is anticipated that another one will be offered in the near future. Anyone interested in attending the next session can contact Infection Prevention and Control on 239-1201 to have their name placed on a waiting list.