Long lever elbow taps specially designed for hospital operating theatres and outpatient surgery centres

Hygiene and preventing infection are especially important for healthcare facilities like hospitals, outpatient centres, doctor’s practices and operating theatres in particular. To ensure a safe environment for patients and personnel alike, strict hygiene standards need to be maintained. Infection transmission is an ever-present threat in these working environments and taps with levers operated by the user’s elbow can significantly reduce this risk. This avoids direct contact with the hands and significantly reduces the risk of disease transmission. With solutions like the MODUS Care AH wash basin tap and the VITUS exposed wash basin tap, SCHELL offers products developed with healthcare applications in mind that can meet the most stringent hygienic requirements.

Two types of tap for two different theatre environments
Functionality and benefits
SCHELL hygiene taps with long lever
Extra benefit: laminar flow regulator minimises aerosol formation
Optimum hygiene and safety

Krankenhaus — Healthcare facilities like hospitals need to maintain excellent standards of hygiene in order to prevent the transmission of infection, and safeguard the health of both their patients and their nursing staff.

Where are long lever hygiene taps useful?

Hygiene is especially important in hospitals, outpatient centres and doctor’s practices. Hygiene regulations must be observed here to protect both patients and personnel. This is particularly true in high-risk areas such as operating theatres and examination rooms, where pathogens are a potentially fatal threat for individuals with weakened immune systems. Long lever taps let users trigger the flow of water without needing to touch the fitting with their hands. This minimises the risk of transmitting bacterial and viral infections, which are often passed on via the hands. Taps operated in this way play an important role in preventing the spread of infection, especially in environments where medical staff regularly work with potentially infectious materials and have a lot of contact with patients.

In hospital operating theatres and supporting areas, most taps are wall-mounted exposed wash basin taps with long levers. SCHELL developed its VITUS exposed wash basin tap for this application.

Installed as elbow-operated fittings on the wash basin, these long lever taps are primarily used in medical centres that offer outpatient surgery – whether as general surgical interventions, ENT surgery, accident surgery, maxillofacial surgery or plastic surgery. The MODUS CARE AH wash basin tap is a perfect choice here.

So, how do hospital elbow taps with a long lever work?

Unlike standard single-lever mixers, where the lever is first raised and then adjusted to control the flow of hot or cold water, elbow taps with a long lever are operated along a single axis. The long, ergonomically designed lever is moved with the elbow (or forearm) to one side, which means the tap can be operated without any direct contact with the hands. This is an effective way to reduce the risk of disease transmission from contact with fittings. In the busy working environments normally encountered in a hospital setting, operation with an arm rather than the hands also offers a practical advantage: medical personnel can also use the tap even when they literally have their hands full.

Benefits of long lever hospital elbow taps

Hygienic operation: Minimises the risk of disease transmission via the hands in high-risk workplace environments
Ease of use for hard-working hospital staff: The fitting is simple to operate with an arm even when both hands are busy.
Ergonomics: The long lever makes the tap simple and convenient to use

Einhebelmischer-MODUS-Care-AH — The MODUS Care AH wash basin tap is operated with the elbow along a single axis. The flow of water starts when the lever is moved to the left and is cold at first. The water becomes hotter as the lever is moved further to the left.

SCHELL long lever hospital elbow taps

As an experienced supplier to the healthcare sector, SCHELL offers a range of wash basin taps with long levers that are specially designed for use in doctor’s practices, examination rooms, operating theatres and hospitals.

MODUS Care AH wash basin tap

The long lever on SCHELL’s MODUS Care AH wash basin tap lets medical personnel operate the tap hygienically with their elbow, thereby reducing the risk of bacterial transmission from direct hand contact. The tap is operated along just one axis. The flow of water starts when the lever is moved to the left and is cold at first. The water becomes hotter as the lever is moved further to the left. Integrated mechanical hot water limiting also permits the individual adjustment of the maximum draw-off temperature with the aim of preventing scald injuries. Oversized, clearly visible colour-coded markings for hot and cold water also ensure that the MODUS Care AH is always quick and easy to operate.

Aufputz-Waschtisch-Armatur-VITUS — Simple, versatile and hygienic: thanks to its long clinic arm lever tap, the VITUS VW-AH-T exposed wash basin tap requires no contact with the hands while being used.

VITUS exposed wash basin tap

The VITUS exposed wash basin tap with manual open/close actuation was designed specifically for use in a clinical setting. The tap features an ergonomic clinic arm lever tap that is 153 mm long and can be operated with an arm to avoid hand contact. The pivoting outlet on this wash basin tap can be locked in place. The VITUS exposed wash basin tap is optionally available with an integrated ThermoProtect thermostat: thanks to its reliable anti-scalding protection, this provides an extra level of safety – even if the cold water line fails.

Alongside this exposed wash basin tap, the VITUS series also offers a wide range of other intelligent fittings solutions for healthcare.

Extra benefit: laminar flow regulator minimises aerosol formation

The laminar flow regulator fitted as standard to the MODUS Care AH and VITUS taps is another feature that helps to improve hygiene in a medical work setting. Laminar flow regulators are ideal for facilities in hospitals or doctor’s practices that are used by vulnerable individuals. Unlike conventional regulators that work by mixing in air, they minimise the formation of aerosols, which lowers the risk of bacteria or viruses being transported by the water mist and breathed in by tap users. At the same time, the laminar effect creates a pleasant flow of water that is exceptionally smooth and uniform.

Intelligent fittings for optimum hygiene and safety

The highest standards of hygiene are essential in high-risk medical settings such as hospitals, outpatient clinics and operating theatres. The MODUS Care AH wash basin tap and VITUS exposed wash basin tap from SCHELL offer professional solutions here that have been specifically designed to minimise the risk of infection and create a safe environment for both patients and personnel. With levers controlled by the user’s arm motion, these taps offer hygienic operation without direct hand contact –a decisive advantage in an environment where hygiene is a top priority. Equipped with a laminar flow regulator, these taps also reduce the formation of aerosols, and so provide an extra level of protection against pathogens. With these products especially designed for medical applications, SCHELL makes a valuable contribution towards preventing the spread of infection and helps healthcare facilities easily maintain their stringent hygiene standards.