In the recovery room, 145 cm-high screens provide privacy for the patients while health workers still have a full overview of patients and equipment.
The new Riviera-Chablais Hospital on the Swiss Riviera is the first hospital in Switzerland to have removed all curtains.
“It’s a well-known fact that hospital curtains are a major source of infection. A rise in bacterial resistance and healthcare-associated hospital infections present a public health challenge and are a critical priority in a hospital environment,” says Sylvain Bertschy, equipment procurement manager at the Riviera-Chablais Hospital in the city of Rennaz.
Following an initiative to systematically remove all curtains at the hospital, the Procurement and Supplies Department was given the task of finding a suitable solution on the market
Sylvain Bertschy, equipment procurement manager at the Riviera-Chablais Hospital.
A real challenge to find an alternative to curtains
“About four or five years ago, nobody questioned if hospital curtains were a good idea. They were part of the basic furnishings in a patient’s room or in a consulting room. Our department faced a real challenge,” explains Sylvain Bertschy.
“Our research took us to Silentia, a supplier we already knew as they’d installed the screens in the day clinic at our Vevey Samaritain site.”
To demonstrate the concept and evaluate the performance at a site on the scale of the hospital at Rennaz, technical experts and health workers tested the product in a simulated hospital room. The hospital screen project ran for a total of three years.
In A&E, 165 cm-high screens protect the patients’ privacy without shutting them away.
The new site represents innovation and change
Everyone from the cantons through to the project teams wanted the new Riviera- Chablais Hospital to represent innovation and change. Discontinuing the use of hospital curtains is part of this process of innovation. The plan was also to furnish the building’s windows with disposable curtains. However, the significant cost of the curtains and their associated high carbon footprint led to a decision to have blinds and opaque glazing instead.
The rooms are very bright. The Daylight screen allows patients furthest from the windows to enjoy the natural daylight.
Ergonomics, durability and simplicity
The departments moved into their new premises at the end of 2019 and feedback will be provided in the coming weeks. Meanwhile, tests conducted by health workers and feedback provided at the Vevey site have highlighted the ergonomics, durability and simplicity of the Silentia folding screens.
The decision to remove the curtains has a positive effect
Silentia has also proved to be excellent value for money in the context of the public procurement procedure.
“The decision to remove all the hospital curtains has been positive not only in terms of convenience for the patients and health workers, but also their safety, as the screens will help to improve hygiene at the site” states Sylvain Bertschy.
The Riviera-Chablais Hospital has installed nearly 300 Silentia folding screens. The Silentia system’s simplicity, flexibility and ergonomics addresses the needs of a very wide range of departments, such as recovery rooms, A&E or twin rooms.
We have installed nearly 300 screens
“We work in a spirit of partnership with our suppliers. Silentia has proved to be a genuinely proactive source of ideas. Together, we have installed nearly 300 screens in a very wide range of departments, such as paediatrics, A&E, recovery rooms, the dialysis centre or patients’ rooms. Throughout the project, we have welcome Silentia’s professionalism, experience, advice and listening skills,” says Sylvain Bertschy.
Key figures
- 360 beds (inpatient and outpatient)
- 10 operating theatres
- 6 delivery rooms
- 2 heliports
- 4 storeys
